The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is once again running its Quarterly Confidence Tracker to gather the views of the profession on the current state of home buying and selling. The regulator says the results will help it monitor the mood of the property market and how it changes over time.
The most recent tracker, published in February, cast doubt over whether the market was bouncing back as predicted post-budget, with two-thirds of property professionals claiming business had yet to pick up.
The latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast discusses the issue, following the publication of Q1 statistics covering listings, sold subject to contract (SSTC), search order volumes, and completions, from environmental search and provider Landmark. The figures show activity is building, but not converting at pace. Listing volumes rose by 3% year-on-year across Q1 2026, and a 6% uplift in January has resulted in consistently high levels of stock and greater choice for buyers. But SSTC activity remained slightly below Q1 2025 levels, down 8% year-on-year. The good news is the underlying trend is improving and activity has increased steadily since November 2025.
That said, the podcast swiftly turns to the potential impact of geopolitical unrest which has seen inflation and interest rates rise which in turn may have a knock-on effect on home buyer and seller confidence.
