Positive Signs For Conveyancer Efficiency As Completion Times Fall After High Demands Of 2021

• There were more than 840,000 residential transactions in 2022, down from over one million in 2021. 
• Conveyancers in many parts of England and Wales were able to reduce their completion performance times in 2022 by on average a day or more from the previous year. 
• The profile of the market has remained resilient. In 2022, the largest 7% of firms completed almost half of all purchases (49%). 

There were also improvements in efficiency in some regions as law firms worked quicker to complete transactions and were able to reduce their completion times by on average a day or more. 

The Conveyancing Landscape Insight Report 2023 by Access Legal, which analyses property transaction data from 2022 in England and Wales, shows that last year there were 843,730 transactions for residential properties which was down 23% from the previous year. 

The annual conveyancing report from Access Legal - a leading provider of software and services to law firms - looks at changing trends from the last year, as well as discussing the opportunities and challenges impacting the market to ensure firms can deliver and maintain practice, client and compliance excellence. 

The latest data shows that in regions where residential transactions had seen the biggest jump in 2021  - the south west, south east and east - they saw the biggest reduction in transactions in 2022 with transactions falling by 26%. 

As a consequence, the south west and south east regions, plus greater London, experienced an ‘operational hangover’ with their AP1 submission times increasing as they struggled with high demands.  

In other regions, however, like the north east, where there were less volume pressures, firms were able to improve their post-completion times by up to two days, working through the backlog quicker and streamlining their workload. 

Mike Connelly , commercial director at Access Legal and founder of Legal Bricks, a customised platform that simplifies and speeds up the conveyancing process, said: "The data in our report aligns with what we hear from our customers - the market has moved back to a normal level of activity, like we saw back in 2019." Much of the evolution in the industry over the last two years has been driven around the use of technology and integration. 

"The challenge or opportunity for firms is how they can maintain their price points while improving client experience with a simpler and quicker conveyancing journey. Transaction times have become quite protracted and while improved slightly in 2022, we still have an opportunity to streamline processes and improve service levels to clients while maintaining prices."

Other findings of the report show that in 2022, the number of active conveyancers also fell by 5%, after many of those legal professionals who switched their services temporarily to conveyancing in 2021, have now returned to their previous focuses. As a result the number of active conveyancers has also returned to pre-pandemic levels following the volatility of the market in the previous year.   

The findings also show 49% of all residential purchases were completed by the top 7% of the country’s largest 20 firms as My Home Move remains a dominant provider in the market. 

More than 3,800 UK law firms currently benefit from Access Legal solutions. Its client portfolio includes The MAPD Group, Minster Law, Winn Solicitors, Wolferstans and Neves Solicitors LLP.

For more information on Access Legal solutions, visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/legal/.