A new report reveals that property transactions took longer in 2025 than the previous year, with instruction-to-completion times averaging over 17 weeks (123 days).
The report, An industry aligned: Moving towards certainty, underlines that this equates to an 18% increase since 2019 and a 64% increase since 2007. Consumers say that their ideal time from Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) to completion would be just 6.78 weeks.
The research, carried out by The Landmark Information Group, also found that almost nine in 10 sellers (89%) would instruct a conveyancer before listing if it resulted in a faster sale, and 71% said they would pay their conveyancer upfront for better data-sharing.
Conveyancers were questioned about their biggest current frustrations in their role, with 42% citing transaction timescales. Workload came in at number two, with 35% proposing it as a major headache, and 28% suggesting market challenges were a recurrent bugbear.
When asked what would make the biggest positive impact to their productivity and business success, 39% again mentioned faster transactions. Around one third (34%) named effective use of AI tools and a similar percentage (33%) said better workload prioritisation.
AI solutions were proposed as a business priority for improving efficiency and reducing costs by 46% of conveyancers surveyed, with 78% of law firms saying they now use AI to support fee earners (double the number in 2024). A further 39% agreed that digitising more processes would help and 36% said more efficient assigning of workload was key.
When it came to attracting and retaining talent in the sector, almost half of the conveyancers questioned suggested that more flexibility was the most important factor to consider (47%). Almost a third (32%) said opportunities for progression were vital and a similar number (31%) cited less admin.
Simon Brown, CEO, Landmark Information Group, said:
“The research reinforces a trend we’ve been tracking for some time – property transactions are taking longer because certainty still arrives too late. Too much critical legal, identity and risk information only enters the process once a deal is already underway. The result is extended timelines, rising anxiety and an increased risk of derailment for one of the most emotional and expensive purchases people will ever make.
“Last year marked a pivotal moment for the UK property market, as the industry aligned behind Project 28: A Charter for faster, more certain property transactions. This blueprint for industry change outlines that the solution is not more status updates or dashboards, but earlier certainty. Starting legal work, risk detection, identity and data curation at the point of listing, and then letting technology amplify a better-designed process will make transactions quicker and easier for everyone.
“We’ve now reached an inflection point for the property industry, as our latest findings show that professionals and consumers are united around a shared appetite for greater certainty. Political and economic turbulence will always form part of the backdrop, but by mobilising around better-connected, earlier-stage processes, the industry has a real opportunity to deliver transactions that are more resilient, predictable and reliable.”
