Record breaking conveyancing surge

One Countrywide Property Lawyer probably captured the feelings of all Residential Conveyancers on the 31st March when she let her feelings go on Facebook.

Undoubtedly one of the busiest conveyancing periods ever came to a close last month and new figures suggest Residential Conveyancers are probably still recovering from it.

As impending stamp duty changes in the buy to let market saw an unprecedented number of buyers pushing to get their transactions over the line by the end of the month. 

My Home Move announced that it completed a record 1,210 property transactions on 31 March. It also completed 6,178 mover transactions in March, a 22% increase from its previous monthly record of 5,060 transactions in October last year. The Council of Mortgage Lenders also reported a staggering 43 per cent month-on-month increase in March mortgage lending.

And it wasn't just Residential Conveyancers who were feeling the pressure. Spare a thought too for the legal cashiers and accounts people, many we hear were working until midnight in that final week. Estate agents were also breathing a sigh of relief having recorded £17bn of house sales across the UK in the last 2 weeks of March according to homesandproperty.co.uk, with most of them looking to be pushed over the line before the end of the month or have sales prices renegotiated. Which of course means unhappy clients and reduced commission.  

A collective glass raised in recognition of the residential conveyancers and support teams that made March happen.