Conveyancing firms getting busier

Wednesday 28th July 2010
Conveyancing firms are reporting higher levels of business, suggesting that transactions in the pipeline could be looking healthier.

Lisa Shenton, a partner at Irwin Mitchell, said there was a 53% rise in the number of completions her firm handled in June compared with May, with year on year figures up by 19%.
 
Shenton said: “As a result of limited mortgage availability and the withdrawal of HIPs, there is a vast supply of houses on the market at the moment and this has put buyers in a very strong position.
 
“We expect the number of completions in July to remain high as people try to finalise their move before the start of the new school term, and we’re also expecting a busy December as buyers try to push through their purchases before the increase in VAT on January 1, 2011.”
 
Conveyancing Alliance, an online conveyancing distributor, has also reported a significant increase in business, saying completions in the second quarter were up by 35% on the first three months.

It says that in June, it had twice as many vendor clients as in May.