"The turbulence in the UK’s political system is far from settling as we follow our Brexit path, and it is essential that the property market is safeguarded from continued uncertainty"
The Search Acumen data shows that additionally, the average number of firms active in the three months to June 2017 dropped 1% from 4,198 in Q1 to 4,143, the lowest figure on record since tracking began in 2011.
Throughout the quarter, the average monthly caseload per firm dropped by 13% from 59 in Q1 to 51 cases in Q2 – the lowest quarterly figure since Q2 2014.
While the top five firms saw the biggest drop in activity year-on-year, this comparison is skewed by the unusually high volume of transactions registered in Q2 2016. This was a result of the rush to complete purchases at the end of Q1 that year ahead of changes to the stamp duty rules for landlords and second homebuyers.
Over the past two years, the top five ranking firms have experienced minimal change in total quarterly transactions processed: from 12,481 in Q2 2015 (2,496 cases per firm) to 12,538 in the same period this year (2,507 cases per firm).
In contrast, those firms ranking outside of the top 1,000 have witnessed a 14% decline in business: from 65,342 in Q2 2016 (20 cases per firm) to 56,462 in Q2 2017 (18 cases per firm).
Comparing different types of transactions, Transfer of Part transactions saw the largest decrease in volumes, dropping by 27% from Q1. First Registration transactions witnessed the smallest decrease, dropping 10% from the previous quarter but up 5% year-on-year. In the same three month period, Dealings and Dispositionary First Lease transactions were down 12% and 20% respectively.
Andrew Lloyd, Managing Director of Search Acumen, said: “The dip in conveyancing activity should come as no surprise to those closely watching the UK property market, but it poses a significant challenge for conveyancing firms that want to survive and grow. We see from our latest statistics on productivity that the conveyancing industry is an increasingly well-oiled machine, but it can only process the transactions the market feeds it.
“The turbulence in the UK’s political system is far from settling as we follow our Brexit path, and it is essential that the property market is safeguarded from continued uncertainty with clear and effective policy decisions. Last time the market was this quiet for conveyancers, we saw major interventions through Help to Buy to support first-time buyers. The fact that second-steppers are now finding life hard suggests there is still much to do to effectively balance the UK housing market – not least addressing the shortage of homes to go round.
“Meanwhile, with fewer customers to play for, competitive pressures are heightening and conveyancing firms face more of a challenge to attract new business. No-one wants to get left behind in the second half of the year and if growth returns after the summer, the biggest winners will be those firms that are ready to leap out of the starting blocks.”
