February sees record instruction growth

The total number of sale instructions for January and February rose 33% compared to the same period in 2015, while both purchase and remortgage instructions were up by 62%. Total instructions for the same period compared to last year were up by 43%.

In February, total instructions rose 27% on the previous month, with the breakdown consisting of: sale instructions up 44%; purchase instructions up 25%; and remortgage instructions up 27%.

In two separate weeks during February, Broker Conveyancing saw the largest number of instructions ever received since its launch four years ago.

Recent indices and surveys also suggest that a considerable amount of the extra activity in the mortgage market is currently down to buy-to-let purchasers seeking to buy before the introduction of the extra 3% stamp duty charge for those buying additional properties, which is due to be introduced on the 1st April.

However, Broker Conveyancing’s figures reveal that while there has been an increase in buy-to-let purchase instructions in the first two months of 2016 compared to last, this has not been significant. In January and February 2015, buy-to-let instructions made up 21% of all its purchase cases, while over the same period this year, it had increased to 24%.

Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Broker Conveyancing, commented:

“There’s no doubting that activity has risen considerably during the first two months of the year and this is having a considerable impact on conveyancing firms with a great deal of pressure being placed on them to complete transactions pre-stamp duty deadline. As expected, in the past few weeks especially, we have seen conveyancing firms looking at resources and prioritising certain cases because of the artificial deadline that has been set which has skewed the marketplace. While it is buy-to-let purchases leading these developments, it’s also the case that other purchases within those chains have been dragged into this and with the pre-Easter rush already in full effect we are seeing a considerable amount of ebb and flow in the market.

“While our instructions continue to grow across sale, purchase and remortgage it is important for brokers who have clients with time-sensitive needs to ensure they are fully aware of which conveyancing firms are in a position to meet those needs. Plus, of course, where the case is more specialist – for example, limited company buy-to-let - it’s important to know which conveyancers have the skills, resource and experience to deal with these cases."