Residential property data for Q1 of 2026 contains encouraging trends for conveyancers, the latest report from Landmark Information Group suggests.
Although global pressures and affordability are constraining home moving activity, listing volumes rose by 3% year-on-year across Q1 2026, Landmark’s data reveals. A 6% uplift in January has resulted in consistently high levels of stock and greater choice for buyers.
Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) activity remained slightly below Q1 2025 levels, down 8% year-on-year, but the underlying trend is improving and activity has increased steadily since November 2025.
The year-on-year gap had narrowed from around 25% in November 2025 to just 7% by March 2026, which the company says could point to demand gradually returning.
Rob Gurney, managing director of Ochresoft, Landmark Information Group, said: “From a conveyancing perspective, Q1 presents a relatively stable picture, with Sold Subject to Contract activity only slightly below last year’s levels. However, comparisons are influenced by the build-up to the stamp duty deadline in early 2025, when some buyers may have entered the market earlier than they otherwise would have.
“Encouragingly, the month-on-month trend has strengthened, with the gap to last year narrowing significantly by March. This points to a steady flow of new instructions entering the pipeline, although the key challenge remains ensuring these cases progress efficiently through to completion.”
Search order volumes have followed a more subdued pattern than typical seasonal patterns for this point in the year, averaging 1% lower in Q1 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. This signals that buyers may be taking a more deliberate approach to decision-making, likely driven by expected interest rate increases and cost-of-living pressures, Landmark said.
Mortgage valuation activity increased by 6% across Q1 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, but this was driven primarily by homeowners remortgaging rather than new purchases. In February, remortgage offers were up 28% compared to 2025 levels, while purchase offers fell by 4%.
“This divergence highlights how existing homeowners are responding to economic conditions, while prospective buyers may be more hesitant, reflecting the ongoing influence of wider economic uncertainty on borrowing behaviour and expectations,” Landmark said.
CEO Simon Brown added: “The data points to a market that is showing resilience, but where global pressures and affordability constraints continue to shape how and when people move. Activity is building, but not converting at pace, with steady movement at the early stages of the transaction process not consistently translating through to completion yet.
“If we are to unlock the full potential of the housing market, improving the speed, certainty and transparency of the transaction process must remain a priority. By reducing delays and modernising how the system operates, we can better support buyers and sellers, strengthen confidence, and enable the market to function more efficiently in all conditions, delivering the positive economic impact associated with it.”
