The conveyancing sector is facing a perfect storm of challenges as 2025 gets up to full speed. Regulatory burdens and economic uncertainty, to the rise of AI and automation, all whilst battling clients demands and expectations; it’s a complex industry landscape, perhaps more so than ever before.
However, amongst these challenges, a spirit of resilience and proactivity is emerging. Conveyancers are taking control of the controllables; embracing innovation and seeking solutions to streamline processes and improve efficiency.
This shift in mindset is evident in the recent market research from Landmark Information Group. Over half of responders (52%) are now taking matters into their own hands by assigning workloads more effectively, while 34% are digitising more processes. Proactively sourcing new business and investing in improved training are also high on responders 2025 priorities.
What Tech Can Do For You
Understanding and integrating new technology can be a daunting task for conveyancing firms, especially with the rapid pace of recent advancements.
“Everybody’s grappling with the fact that the technological capabilities [in conveyancing] are accelerating at such a pace,” admitted Rob Steadman, Sales Director within Landmark Information Group.
“If you deploy AI today, tomorrow there’s almost like the next better version of AI to change it.”
Liz Jarvis, Managing Director of OneSearch highlights the need for dedicated education and training: “There’s an assumption by a lot of people that there’s all this information out there about tech, prop tech, and AI technology, and how it can help your firm. But actually, I don’t think that that’s fully translated into how it can be adopted.
“I think conveyancers and others doing this role, they actually need a lot more information about what that can do [for them] specifically, rather than big noise of a release of this technology. What does it mean to me and to my firm? How long will it take me? How long and what cost will it take for this to embed in my business?
“There’s the worry, what if I invest this money now? Is it obsolete in 12 months’ time?”
The feels are reflected in the market research; 62% of respondents listed the knowledge gap within their team as an aspect which has challenged progress, as well as the slow pace of change towards a digital outlook (62%).
Collaboration and Communication: Bridging the Gaps
Another key theme for 2025 is the need for improved communication and collaboration among all stakeholders in the property transaction process. Participants highlighted the frustration caused by chasing information and the lack of transparency in the system.
Liz Jarvis continued along this point: “One of the biggest frustrations and things that is wasting time really is that chasing one another through all different parts of the process whether it would be a surveyor, an estate agent, the other side of the transaction, the purchaser or the vendor.
“I wonder why it’s taken a really long time. It feels like the thing we’ve never really been able to solve is this transparency or ability to see what other people are doing, putting information in a central place where everyone can access it together instead of it being phone calls and email.”
This desire for greater transparency and collaboration points to the need for solutions that can bring all stakeholders together in a central hub, providing a single source of truth and facilitating seamless information sharing.
Looking Ahead: A Call for Bold Leadership and Continued Innovation
The recent market research from Landmark paints a picture of a sector that is facing challenges head-on, embracing innovation, and actively seeking solutions to improve efficiency and client experience. Conveyancers are taking control, demanding more from technology providers, and prioritising collaboration and communication.
Moving forward, direction and continued innovation will be crucial. As Rob Steadman emphasised, “It’s going to come down to bold leadership across the sector to be clearly heard as to what their priorities are.”
By working together, conveyancers, technology providers, and other stakeholders can create a more efficient, transparent, and client-centric property transaction process. The challenges are real, but the opportunities are even greater.
The Landmark 2024 residential conveyancing survey tells a ‘tale of two halves’. One is about hope for economic stability as we enter autumn with listings and sales volumes rising, and interest rates falling. The other is about how conveyancers are still struggling with slow transaction times, insufficient resources, and general lack of transparency. For more details, be sure to download the market research results today.
In July 2024, OneSearch’s parent company, Landmark Information Group, interviewed 100 residential property solicitors and conveyancers in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Together, we asked about artificial intelligence, digital transformation, legislative changes, upfront information, and much more.
The responses shaped our new Market Research Report – ‘Residential Conveyancing: Looking ahead to 2025’ – which covers their challenges, concerns, priorities, and predictions for the coming year.
Find out what they said and download the report.
Our latest Residential Market Research is now available.
Recently, Landmark interviewed 100 residential property solicitors and conveyancers in England, Scotland and Wales. We spoke to managing partners, heads of residential property law, fee earners, residential property solicitors and other directors.
We gained invaluable insights into the residential property market, and it showed us what’s currently of concern to conveyancers and where they see future opportunities to help drive the success and profitability of their business.
For example, within the last 12 months, incomplete information has meant our respondents have needed to raise enquiries in an average of 46% of cases, hence perhaps why 53% say having upfront information to assess the complexity of the work would have the biggest impact on profitability.
Find out your colleagues and client’s views on:
- The biggest impacts on conveyancing’s future success
- The benefits of receiving data insights on the property and
- location Frustrations with the transactional process
…and more!
Our parent company Landmark have released their Residential Conveyancing and Home Movers’ experiences in 2022 guide, revealing the experiences from both sides of the conveyancing landscape.
Within the guide, you can discover:
- The four biggest causes of delays for residential conveyancers
- Which changes would improve the buying experience most
- Levels of buyer-concern around problems arising post-purchase
- The extent to which recruitment is still a challenge in the industry
This guide is part of a series of market research analysis, conducted in late 2022, in which over 140 senior residential conveyancers and commercial real estate lawyers, along with colleagues and 501 home movers were surveyed. Over the coming weeks future reports on Digital Transformation and Climate Change will also be available.
Download the guide, explore the commonalities that may help professionals in the land and property industry to make more robust decisions in line with home movers’ needs.