2022 Conveyancing Trends: Property Law Forecast
Has the housing market storm subsided?
Conveyancing was the most common legal service in the UK in 2021. This is unsurprising following the latest house market boom, but what’s on the horizon for the field in 2022?
The Housing Market
It’s no secret that house pricing in the UK shot through the roof in 2021. On average house prices in the UK hit £271,000 in November 2021. This is a staggering £25,000 higher than the same time last year.
Sources are conflicted about whether house prices will continue to rise. Right Move predicts that costs will rise nationally by 5% in 2022 due to a continual upsurge in buyer demand. They also found that from a regional perspective some of the most competitive markets include the South West, Yorkshire, and the West Midlands.
As predicted at the end of 2021, the Bank of England voted to increase interest rates to 0.25% from 0.10%. According to the Deputy Governor, this could reduce house prices from between 2% to 11%.
On the other hand, mortgage rates have dropped, making payments more affordable for those with larger deposits. For first-time buyers, however, Nationwide Bank found that a 10% deposit is now over half of the average first-time buyer’s income.
Combined with the degree of uncertainty that the pandemic has cast on the housing market, it is difficult to predict the impact that these factors will have. The question on a lot of home buyers’ minds is, will house prices continue to rise in 2022?
Contrary to Right Move, the consumer advice provider Which? suggests that we are likely to see a slowdown in price growth, particularly for first-time buyers, as we come out of the chaos created by the stamp duty holiday. Which? also predict there will be fewer houses on the market in 2022 and a dramatic drop in the number of transactions going through.
So, what does all of this mean for Conveyancing teams?
Even though we are unlikely to see the market become quite as manic as the initial Covid and pre-stamp duty stampede, it is expected that conveyancers and their teams will still have a lot of work on their hands.
Because of this, property lawyers might need to explore increasing their digital transformation to keep up with the workload and streamline the process. Automation could be a useful tool for giving vital time back to Conveyancing departments by reducing caseloads, lowering the margin for minor errors, and improving communication.
However, going digital exacerbates the increasing concern over cyber security and insurance. The Law Gazette recently discussed whether insurance should become mandatory for law firms as last month a major security incident caused a systems outage at the Simplify group. Although unfortunate, the incident has brought cyber cover and cyber threat solutions back into the frame. Cyber threats are a concern that will continue to grow in 2022 for law firms, especially when they can completely immobilise a Conveyancing practice.
A further prediction comes from Lloyd Davies, a Conveyancing expert & founder of the specialist residential Conveyancing practice Convey Law. He expects that transaction attrition rates will decrease but transaction volumes will remain high following record residential sales in 2021.
He also goes on to suggest that we are likely to see an increase in recruitment into the Conveyancing sector due to government-funded apprenticeships meaning that the number of licensed conveyancers and solicitors will hopefully increase. Many practices of the law have experienced an extreme skill shortage and competition for talent is on the rise. The need for talented professionals to join the vocation and take the pressure off of existing teams is paramount.
Whether you’re at the start of your Property Law career or a Conveyancing specialist looking for a new role – we can help.
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