PRESS RELEASE: 5thJuly 2017
Few signs of growth ahead forthe residential conveyancing market

The UK Conveyancing Market Briefing 2017 provides anoverview of the UK conveyancing market which has witnessed a period of fluctuating trends in the last few years.

  • From 2009 onwards the residential conveyancing market has been improving slowly through to 2016 but then declined in the second half of 2016 and the first half of 2017.
  • In the first quarter of 2016 there was a spike in transaction volumes prior to the 31st March 2016 deadline for the Stamp Duty Land Tax changes imposed for additional properties. Since then and up to the middle of 2017 the market has been largely subdued and the number of house purchases for 2017 is generally expected to fall.
  • Between 2011 and 2016, the number of practising conveyancing firms in England and Wales fell by 26% from 7,677 to only 5,689.
  • The number of practising solicitors working in conveyancing in England and Wales has also decreased by over 3,000 between 2009 and the start of 2017.
  • IRN Research is forecasting growth in residential conveyancing market value of less than 2% at current prices in 2017. A majority of conveyancers surveyed for the report are anticipating some volume growth in the next 12 months but market uncertainties are likely to limit this volume growth.

The briefing (32pp, PDF), is available directly from IRN Research, priced at £160. UK sterling price is plus VAT so total price is £192.

This is one of a series of reports published through the year by and a subscription to all the reports is available for£1,000 (plus VAT). Combined price for all reports purchased separately would be £1,300 (plus VAT). The reports included in the annual subscription are:

UK Legal Services Market Report

UK Residential Conveyancing Market
UK Wills & Probate Market
UK Family Law Market
UK Personal Injury Market
UK B2B Legal Market

PLUS: Password access to UK Legal Services Dashboard containing 50 historical and regularly updated time-series on the UK legal market.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Scope

1.2 Market Summary

2. Market Size & Trends

2.1 Property Transactions

2.2 England Dominates

2.3 House Purchase Approvals and Loans

2.4 Conveyancing Solicitors - Numbers

3. Sector Structure and Key Players

3.1 Overview

3.2 Selected Players

Myhomemove

Countrywide Property Lawyers

O’Neill Patient Solicitors

Birchall Blackburn Law

Beaumont Legal

Advantage Property Lawyers

Bower and Bailey

Grindeys

Shoosmiths

DC Law

Cook Taylor Woodhouse

Enact Conveyancing

Conveyancing Direct Property Law

Major Scottish Conveyancers

Conveyancing Direct Solicitors

HBC Conveyancing

McVey & Murricane
Your Conveyancer

Property Searches Scotland

4. Conveyancing Practitioners Research Results

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Survey Results

5. Market Value and Forecasts

6. Conveyancing Organisations

7. Recent Developments

IRN Research

Established in 1991, IRN Research is a market research consultancy with a particular focus on the legal services market.We offer a range of bespoke research services, on an ad-hoc and continuous basis, to law firms and suppliers to the sector. These services include client satisfaction surveys, market studies and competitor intelligence, client industry reports, and strategic studies.
For further information on the report or our research services contact David Mort on +44(0)7905 239599 or :