As UK consumers continue to struggle with the cost of living, many expect the economy to enter a recession in the next six months.
Dye & Durham’s newly released UK Pulse Report for Q4 2023 sampled 2,115 UK adults and found that 41% of respondents think it is very likely the UK is headed for a recession in the first half of this year.
Despite this, more than half of the adults surveyed (56%) feel they are in a better or unchanged financial situation compared to the year before. It also found that interest rates and house prices have a limited effect on consumers’ decisions towards property transactions – only 4% of survey respondents are waiting until interest rates drop to buy or sell a property, and 5% are planning to wait to pursue transactions until purchase prices drop.
In the face of economic uncertainty, there remain reasons for conveyancers to be optimistic about the housing market – 11% of people surveyed aged 25-34 are planning to become first-time homebuyers this year.
Conveyancers have a clear opportunity to gain momentum in the coming months by offering what this younger client base is looking for, including a more digitised client experience. More than a third (38%) of this group said lawyers/conveyancers would benefit from incorporating more technology into the services they provide.
Read the full UK Pulse Report for Q4 2023 here.
This article was submitted to be published by Dye & Durham as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
