£21m A Day: Commercial Spending On Real Estate Drops From 2017-19 As Brexit Delays Bite
On average, commercial buyers of real estate in England and Wales spent £249m each day during the first eight months of 2019 – a drop of more than 7% over two years from £270m in 2017 The biggest spending day of 2019 so far is down by more than £120m compared to the busiest day […]
Blockchain Used To Create End To End Home Buying Journey
One of the UK’s leading banks and lenders, Natwest, has teamed up with a network of experts in the property sector to further develop blockchain and distributed ledger technology to create a seamless mortgage to home buying experience. The blockchain offering will utilise Natwest’s mobile banking app and will create an end to end home […]
Conveyancing Transactions Tumble 23% Since 2017
Conveyancing transactions have plummeted by over a fifth since 2017. According to Search Acumen’s conveyancing market tracker, the opening three quarters of 2019 completed 23% fewer transactions than in 2017 and a 4% reduction on 2018’s total up to September. Between January and September, conveyancers worked on 731,799 residential transactions which represented a 12% fall […]
Commercial Buyers Of New Build Real Estate Increasingly Looking Beyond The M25 As Market Falters
Forecasts predict a slump in new build sales in London by the end of the year Search Acumen Commercial Real Estate Insights – Q3 2019 edition Commercial new build transactions outside the capital set to rise in 2019 while Greater London transactions set to fall precipitously as Brexit bites Commercial real estate new build sales […]
Brexit Uncertainty Restricts Residential Developments
Despite the Government’s desire to solve the housing crisis by building 300,000 new homes per year by the middle of the next decade, it would seem that developers and home owners are reluctant to embark on construction projects as planning application numbers decline in the second quarter of 2019. According to Office of National Statistics […]
National Empty Homes Week 2019 September 23rd-29th
Monday 23rd September marks the start of National Empty Homes Week. The Empty Homes Week was founded by Action on Empty Homes to highlight Britain’s underused or completely unused housing stock and to encourage action on how it can serve those with housing needs. Action on Empty Homes estimate that nationally there are over 216,000 […]
Superstition Stalls The Property Market As Completions Drop Nearly 40% On Friday 13th
This Friday 13th could put the housing and commercial property markets on pause according to analysis by Search Acumen, the property data and technology provider, which shows a double-digit drop in both residential and commercial sales on Friday 13th. HM Land Registry data shows that the average Friday workload for conveyancers and commercial property lawyers […]
Superstitious Buyers Avoid Property Completions Today
Despite already living through a seemingly never-ending Brexit induced nightmare causing buyers and sellers to flee the property market in their droves, throwing in an additional superstitious grenade of Friday 13th is deterring even more from completing today. According to data collated by Search Acumen, many residential and commercial property stakeholders could sleep through, delaying […]
Scottish Property Transactions Flourish Whilst UK Flounders
Whilst many areas of the UK property market flatten, Scotland’s market is flourishing with transactions reaching an 11-year high. Despite the impending Brexit deadline of 31 October, research, conducted by Aberdein Considine’s quarterly property monitor, found that the opening half of 2019 has been the most buoyant property period since 2008. The 25,806 sales completed […]
10% Conveyancing Dip Blamed On Brexit
Recent figures show that Brexit is plaguing the conveyancing market, as the UK is experiencing the slowest quarter for two years. Search Acumen have analysed Land Registry data to track the market. It has been revealed that quarterly conveyancing volumes between April and June dropped below 230,000 cases for the first time in two years. […]
Exodus Continues As Another PI Insurer Escapes Hardening Market
Law firms and abandoned solicitors have been left reeling after their Personal Indemnity Insurance (PII) provider made the decision to leave the PII sector six weeks before many pending policy renewals trigger. Aon notified their customers via a letter on August 30th, leaving few reasons why they were stopping their PII cover. Instead, the company […]
Conveyancing Hits The Brexit Buffers As 10% Drop Activity Means Slowest Quarter For Two Years
Search Acumen Conveyancing Market Tracker – Q2 2019 edition Total conveyancing transaction volumes fell by over 10% on a quarterly basis and 20% since Q2 2016 as Brexit uncertainty plagues the market The top 200 conveyancing firms now collectively control two fifths of the market – a record share The number of active conveyancing firms […]
Future Gazing – Industry Experts Debate What’s Next In PropTech
We recently held a series of stimulating round tables to reflect on the PropTech landscape and the potential of future innovations. We invited representatives from HM Land Registry (HMLR), Leverton, an Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning technology company, International Property Network (IPN), a blockchain property technology firm, research-led Artificial Intelligence company, Eigen Technologies, and also […]
Billion-Pound Commercial Real Estate League Revealed
Twice as many locations in England and Wales broke the £1bn sales mark in 2018 than 2016 Search Acumen Commercial Real Estate Insights – June 2019 Thirteen local authority districts across England and Wales exceeded £1bn of commercial real estate sales in 2018, compared with only six in 2016 Total value of commercial sales jumped […]
Experts Feel Less Despondent About Flat Property Market
The property market remains stagnant as buyer enquiries remain poor and new instructions continue to decline. In March, enquiries for new buyers entering the property market yielded a respondent net balance of -27% which remained unchanged in April and May. Whilst the number of new buyers looking to purchase property is not reducing, the figures […]
Conveyancing Volumes Fall 6% Annually And 4% From Last Quarter
Brexit uncertainty has had a mighty impact on the conveyancing sector as conveyancing volumes dip and the number of active law firms’ plummets. According to the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen, on an annual basis, conveyancing volumes have fallen by 6%. Similarly, the market has shrank by 4% on a quarterly basis with the […]
Top 200 Conveyancers Seize Record Market Share As Active Firms Drop Below 4,000
Search Acumen Conveyancing Market Tracker – Q1 2019 edition The number of active conveyancing firms in England and Wales dropped below 4,000 (3,961) for the first time on record The top 200 conveyancing firms now control more than 39% of the market, a record share The top 1,000 conveyancers now control more than three-quarters of […]
Blockchain Trial Cuts Property Transaction Process Down Substantially
Proptech leaders across the globe have completed a trial which claims to cut the property transaction process to 3 weeks rather than 3 months using blockchain technology. A successful pilot finalised by Instant Property Network (IPN) has demonstrated the potential to speed up property transactions by months by cutting the current average property process of […]
First UK Amazon Alexa Property Valuation Tool Is Launched
Homeowners across the UK will be able to ask their virtual assistant, Alexa, what their property is worth in the current market conditions. A largely franchised group, Hunters, announced the launch of an Amazon Alexa property valuation tool claiming it is to be the first of its kind in the UK. The voice-activated assistant, Alexa, […]
How Can Local Conveyancers Compete With Large Law Firms?
In the world of conveyancing, there are minnows and sharks, and according to recent data from the Land Registry, the former are falling victim to market capitalisation by the latter. While the overall picture for the conveyancing industry is positive, with demand for services at their highest levels since the UK voted to leave the […]