Compared to the previous three months, Quarter two 2013 showed purchase instructions increasing by 104%, with remortgage instructions improving by 34%. In Quarter one this year there was an almost 50/50 split between remortgage and purchase business; however Quarter two has seen the market shift more in favour of purchases accounting for over a third more instructions.
Purchase instructions appear to be higher due to a growth in both the first-time buyer and buy-to-let sectors. Broker Conveyancing believes the growth in first-timers, plus the growing attractiveness of the buy-to-let market, is allowing the formation of far more property chains than 12 months ago and delivering a knock-on increase for second steppers and those above them on the ladder.
Broker Conveyancing’s total number of instructions during the three-month period (April-June) also increased by over 74% on the previous three months. The firm puts this down to a number of factors including a growing user base – 65% of all registered users have now used the site at least once - attracted by competitively-priced products, the ability to be paid on exchange, plus a unique loyalty bonus for each piece of business completed.
Broker Conveyancing says these platform benefits plus the increase in activity in both the remortgage and purchase markets mean instruction levels are likely to continue rising over the course of the Summer and beyond.
Broker Conveyancing was launched to meet the specific conveyancing needs of brokers and their clients. The proposition has a number of unique features including radical pricing, a loyalty bonus, payment on exchange, an all-inclusive fee structure, ‘no completion – no legal fees charged’, and fall through protection on searches.
Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Broker Conveyancing, commented:
“At the end of last quarter we thought remortgage and purchase business levels would stay roughly equal as we moved into 2013 but that hasn’t been the case. It has been the purchase market which has seen significant growth, and while the remortgage market has grown by a third, this is nothing compared to over 100% growth for purchases. Clearly, the property market is in a positive place at present and we are undoubtedly seeing the benefits of measures such as the Funding for Lending Scheme plus a slight loosening of mortgage criteria particularly for first-time buyers and second-steppers, and also a growth in the number of buy-to-let transactions. Property chains tend to begin with either the first-timer or the buy-to-let investor and therefore if they’re more active then we are likely to see growing levels of purchase transactions taking place. This has been very noticeable within the last three months and many in the marketplace may have been surprised by how quickly the growth has come.
“Of course we’re a relatively new business with a growing user base and, even with a static number of brokers using our platform, we would still anticipate instruction levels to increase particularly over the next three to six months. We have learnt not to look too far beyond this timescale as this could change, however with the introduction of the Government’s Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme in January next year, it is likely the property market will continue to see increased activity well into next year – if of course it can stop itself from overheating, which is a particular worry in the South East. We are confident our growing number of broker users experience a quality service at competitive fee levels for the client, plus they are likely to be benefiting from increased income because of measures like our loyalty bonus. With the property market picking itself firmly off the floor now should be the time when brokers get involved in the conveyancing sector in order to recommend a full service to clients and to benefit from the added value available.”
