property market - OneSearch

2025 has been a year of meaningful networking and collaboration, and there’s nowhere more engaged in networking than the Midlands.

Through our partnership with networking group, PropertyFace2Face (PF2F), OneSearch proudly sponsored and co-hosted five vibrant Curry Club lunch events that brought property and construction professionals together in Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby. These gatherings weren’t just about exchanging business cards – they were about building relationships, sharing ideas, and creating opportunities.

Celebrating Five Fantastic Events

This year, we joined forces with PF2F for five unique events, each with its own flavour and energy:

7 February – Leicester Comedy Curry Club, MemSaab Restaurant
A lively lunch of laughter with professional comedian, Arthur Smith and networking that sets the tone for the year ahead.
9 May – Derby Curry Club, Nicco Restaurant
A spring meet-up which sparked conversations and new collaborations over a curry.
21 August – A Slice of Summer Social, Nicco Restaurant
Derby’s property and construction professionals celebrated in the sun, enjoying delicious Indian canapés, Prosecco and live Ibiza-style music in August.
19 September – Nottingham Curry Club, MemSaab Restaurant
An engaging event with speed networking that brought together like-minded Notts property and construction professionals.
9 October – High Chai & Chatter, Passan’s Restaurant, Nottingham
The premiere High Chai & Chatter event took place in October, featuring a Nottingham-themed quiz and a delicious Indian-inspired take on Afternoon Tea.

Each event had its own highlights, but all shared one common theme: meaningful connections that create new business opportunities.

Claire Slade, Business Development Manager at OneSearch, said:
“It’s been incredible to see these Curry Club events bring people together. Each one has sparked new conversations and opportunities – and that’s what networking is all about.”

Sasha Stewart, Co-Founder, Property Face2Face added:
“Partnering with OneSearch this year has been a fantastic experience. Together, we’ve created spaces where property and construction professionals can connect, collaborate, and thrive. We can’t wait to continue this journey in 2026.”

Looking Ahead to the New Year

The momentum doesn’t stop here. We’re kicking off the new year with another exciting PF2F event at Mint Leaf Lounge Restaurant, Bank, London on Thursday, 22nd January 2026 – and we’d love to see you there!

👉 https://pf2f.co.uk/event/22nd-january-2026/

Join the Conversation

Conveyancing is evolving faster than ever. Our latest residential market research, Paving the way for smarter residential conveyancing in 2026, reveals how technology is transforming your day-to-day work, helping you deliver smarter, faster, and more certain transactions.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s inside:

86% of conveyancers agree digitisation and automation have improved customer experience.
78% now use AI to assist fee earners, double last year’s figure.
73% believe earlier data insights provide greater certainty for buyers.

This market research report provides key insights to help you stay competitive, boost efficiency, and meet client needs.

Download your copy today and discover how to leverage technology and collaboration for success in 2026.

In conveyancing, it only takes one piece of flawed or unverified data to turn a smooth transaction into a costly nightmare.

The real cost of dealing with fragmented search results isn’t just wasted time; it’s the threat of disputes, liabilities, and fall-throughs that erode confidence and damage your firm’s reputation. If you’re tired of spending valuable hours double-checking sources or dealing with last-minute data surprises, you need a method that guarantees accuracy and peace of mind.

To give you a clear, visual understanding of the solution, we’ve created a new infographic: Solving the Data Puzzle. It lays out our meticulous, forensic methodology – the Triple Check – that ensures accuracy across all three key stages of data collection and review. Download it to instantly see why our unparalleled data foundation delivers the clarity, confidence, and efficiency you need to succeed.

UK property market enters ‘suspended animation’ amid Autumn Budget speculation

Our Q3 2025 Property Trends Report reveals that the UK housing market entered a period of ‘suspended animation’ during the third quarter of the year, with uncertainty over potential property tax changes in the run-up to the Autumn Budget causing the market to adopt a holding pattern.

Across England and Wales, there was a 1% drop in new property listings year-on-year. Sales agreed (SSTC) were 6% lower than in Q3 2024, while completion and search order volumes tracked in line with 2024 levels. Mortgage valuation numbers held steady, but remortgaging continued to drive much of the market activity.

Other key findings from Q3 2025 include:

Listings volumes were down 1% vs Q3 ‘24 volumes.
In Scotland, listings were down 4% in Q3 ‘25 vs Q3 ‘24.
SSTC volumes in Q3 ‘25 were down 6% compared to Q3 ‘24 volumes.
SSTM levels in Scotland were up 4% in Q3 ‘25 vs Q3 ‘24.
Completion volumes were up 1% in Q3 ‘25 compared to Q3 ’24.
In Scotland, completions were up 10% in Q3 ‘25 vs Q3 ‘24.

Download the report for the latest trends affecting the residential sector in Q3 2025.

Our parent company Landmark Information Group is among some of the UK’s leading organisations from across the property sector who have united to streamline the property transaction process and bring certainty back to the sector. Our bold ambition is to transform how we buy and sell property for good.

The Charter is a cross-industry commitment to transform the UK property market by reducing the time from sale agreed to exchange to just 28 days.

For the first time, mortgage lenders, brokers, estate agents, conveyancers and property data providers have come together to define eight key commitments aimed at streamlining the property transaction process and delivering better outcomes for all.  

Landmark Information Group is committed to bringing certainty, transparency and speed to the home buying process. 

The paperwork is done. The deadlines are tight. Everything is on track for a smooth completion. But then, a piece of the search data doesn’t quite fit.

Maybe it’s a conflicting record, a missing detail, or a late-stage query from a third party. This moment of doubt is familiar to every conveyancer; the ripple of uncertainty that can quickly become a full-blown wave of delay, client frustration, and unexpected risk.

This blog uncovers four of the real risks that lurk in the details of property transactions, and how to spot them before they stall your next case.

The Architectural Blunder

Imagine a client purchasing a multimillion-pound property in an affluent London borough, with grand plans to repurpose the interior into their dream home. They assume planning permission will be a formality, only to discover a critical restriction post-purchase. Feeling powerless and bitter, the homeowner makes a defiant gesture by painting the façade in a dramatic colour scheme. This move immediately ran afoul of even more local regulations, as the property was in a conservation area, meaning strict rules governed its exterior appearance. The homeowner was legally compelled to repaint the house to its original visage, a costly obligation for which they were entirely unprepared.

The OneSearch Solution: This example highlights a critical pitfall: a lack of awareness about local planning and conservation rules. Without a comprehensive search, a buyer can inherit costly obligations. Our detailed reports bring these vital details to light before purchase, ensuring buyers understand a property’s true limitations and avoid unexpected financial burdens and disappointment.

The Unforeseen Public Right of Way

In a move to make everyone envious, a wealthy couple purchased a vast country estate with roaming fields for garden space, only to discover an unexpected feature: legally protected public rights of way crisscrossing their land. Despite their desire for privacy and claims that these paths infringed on their human rights, the ancient rights of public access in England and Wales legally superseded their personal desires. People continued to walk through parts of their private estate, turning a dream of seclusion into a persistent privacy issue.

The OneSearch Solution: This story illustrates a common issue for many property buyers. Countryside rights of way are heavily protected and can significantly impact the enjoyment and use of a property. Without proper searches, a buyer might unknowingly acquire land with legally protected footpaths, leading to unexpected conflicts. Our property searches uncover these crucial details, ensuring buyers are fully aware of all access rights tied to their new home and the acres of land that it comes with.

The Chancel Repair Liability

For many, buying a home near a beautiful old church seems idyllic. However, an archaic and often surprising law known as Chancel Repair Liability can turn this dream into a financial nightmare. Dating back centuries, this obscure law can burden property owners with the financial responsibility for repairing the chancel (the area around the altar) of a local church. This liability is tied to the land’s history, not the current owner’s religious beliefs. There are real cases where unsuspecting homeowners have faced demands for hundreds of thousands of pounds for church roof repairs; a devastating blow that can come completely out of the blue, years after purchasing a property.

The OneSearch Solution: This unfortunate example underscores the vital importance of understanding all potential liabilities tied to a property. Our selection of indemnity add-ons includes chancel insurance, safeguarding buyers from this potential and incredibly costly hidden obligation, ensuring their peace of mind long after moving in.

The Hidden Flood Risk

A retiring couple, envisioning a peaceful new life in a downsized property, moved into a house only to discover a shocking secret: an abutting pond regularly overflowed into the back garden. The previous owners had failed to disclose this critical issue, leaving the new homeowners with a persistent and damaging problem they were entirely unprepared for. This unfortunate example underscores the vital importance of understanding environmental risks associated with a property.

The OneSearch Solution: Flooding is just one of many potential environmental hazards that can impact a home’s value, insurability, and liveability. Without thorough environmental searches, buyers might unknowingly purchase properties in high-risk areas. Our comprehensive environmental reports access vast datasets and expert analysis to inform buyers of potential risks, enabling them to make truly informed decisions and avoid such distressing surprises.

Every Piece in Place. Every Transaction Secure.

These four illustrations demonstrate a crucial truth for conveyancers and buyers: our homes are seldom straightforward. Furthermore, the data attached with them needs to be as accurate and as authentic as it can possibly be. In a market filled with nuanced risks and unexpected pitfalls, only a meticulous, comprehensive approach to data can truly safeguard your clients and your firm from hidden liabilities.

At OneSearch, this meticulous approach is not a feature; it’s the anchor of what we do. Our uncompromising quality and expert problem-solvers are dedicated to ensuring your conveyancing transactions are built on a bedrock of certainty. We are specialists in finding the hidden risks, correcting the inconsistencies, and giving you the peace of mind to advise your clients with unwavering confidence.

Don’t let your next transaction be stalled by the unexpected.

For more examples of the real risks that lurk in the details of property transactions, as well as details on how to spot them, grab our latest guide: ‘Solving the data puzzle’, available now.

Fill in the form below to download your complimentary ‘Solving the
data puzzle’ guide: