Conveyancing fees rose 6% in 2023

Conveyancing fees increased by around 6% last year, analysis suggests.

Property Solvers’ annual research of legal practices in England and Wales has revealed that average residential conveyancing fees for a freehold tenured property sale and purchase in early 2024 stood at £1,187.98 and £1,265.65 respectively.

Average conveyancing costs for a leasehold property sales were more subdued.

Prices rose by 3.72% for sales to £1,401.99 and by 3.82% for leasehold property purchases to £1,491.83.

The quick-buy firm approached 100 conveyancing firms for direct quotes. It was assumed that a mortgage was being redeemed upon sale completion or the property was being purchased with a mortgage. Property values in the quote request never exceeded £300,000 for purchase or sale. Also, the fees do not include disbursements.

Ruban Selvanayagam of Property Solvers said: “Continued inflationary pressures on wages and other overheads involved in running conveyancing practices continue to drive fees upwards - albeit at a slower pace than in recent years.

“We were coming across quotes going well into the £2,000s for freehold sales / purchases and nearly reaching £3,000 for leasehold property purchases - often reflective of the firms’ well-established reputation and their ability to process transactions quicker,” he continues.

“However, we continue to discourage sellers and buyers from using conveyancers with pricing that appears to be unusually inexpensive. Whilst more conveyancers are embracing AI and other streamlined process, you’ll often find that the ‘low fee’ firms tend to be overloaded with cases - resulting in an inferior quality of service.”