Slump in transactions triggers conveyancing firms pulling out

The slump in housing market transactions is beginning to translate into a fall in the number of conveyancing companies.

A study by PropTech service Search Acumen suggests a 22% year-on-year call in housing transactions, and now a 3% drop in the number of conveyancing companies in the first half of 2024. In total there are some 11% fewer conveyancing firms now than a decade ago.

Search Acumen claims December 2023 recorded the fewest property transactions per month (56,397) since the pandemic, last reaching such historic lows in September 2020 (53,166).

The decline has seen law firms averaging far fewer caseloads in 2024 at 61 per quarter this year so far, compared to 74 across the same period in 2023 and 94 at its peak in Q1 2022.

However, in the latest data available for June 2024, transactions remained steady.

What Search Acumen calls ”the top five law firms” have seen their market share of caseloads drop slightly in Q2 2024 compared to the previous quarter, from 5% to 4%, but down 24% in a decade.

This is also reflected in average transaction volumes for the top five firms, down 9% in a decade.

A spokesperson for the company says: “Lawyers, like other industries, are feeling the pressure to do more with less. Pressure from clients to produce more in the same time frame – to be quicker as well as to serve their firms bottom line – is a balancing act where often technology can be used to expedite the process.

“Whilst the fact that caseloads are dropping may feel like a well-earned reprieve for many after the post-pandemic years, it is also an uncomfortable sign that growth is stagnating in real estate.

“Some firms are taking a much larger slice of the pie, knowing that when the heat is on, upping their game is essential. The data reflects this and what we know anecdotally, that the mid to large firms are investing in digital transformation and seeing their market share grow as a result.”