"As we are well into 2024, we have seen a consistent rise in house prices and a drop in inflation, this should also bring a decline in the base rate later in the year but for now things are looking positive for the housing market"
- Dave Sayce - Compare My Move
Compare My Move has released figures on the cost of conveyancing for people buying and selling a house, using site data from the previous year to create an average cost.
According to the findings, the average cost of conveyancing in 2024 is now £1,353.00 - up 4.5% against last year. The average cost of a conveyancer for purchase in 2024 has risen by 18.7% from 2023, rising by £247. For sales, average costs have fallen by 10.3% from 2023, dropping by £131.
The conveyancing industry is still recovering from the rise in inflation seen in 2022 and 2023 and with the base rate still at 5.25% there is still a reluctance to buy and sell.
From the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, we saw a consistent drop in national house prices across the UK alongside a consistent rise in the office bank rate.
Because of this, there has been an ongoing reluctance to sell over the past year, and we are only now starting to see the end of this as prices begin to rise again. Buyers have been better off than sellers in the past year despite the rising base rate as they manage to pick up properties that could’ve been 10-15% more expensive a year before purchase.
As we saw the property market switch to a buyer's market last year we also saw a shift in the conveyancing prices. Conveyancing prices for sale dropped significantly by 10.3% due to the shift in the market, however, this shift also allowed conveyancing prices for purchase to rise by 18.7% to keep the cost of conveyancing overall on an increase just above inflation of 4.5%.
Dave Sayce MD and founder of Compare My Move said: “As we are well into 2024, we have seen a consistent rise in house prices and a drop in inflation, this should also bring a decline in the base rate later in the year but for now things are looking positive for the housing market.
"This will reflect on the conveyancing industry, more people will be buying and selling and therefore we expect there to be a rise in both purchase and sale services, as well as a significantly higher increase in the overall cost of conveyancing.
“There has also been a bigger focus on the digital side of conveyancing in 2024, with the aim to make the process as efficient as possible for both client and conveyancer. Although I don’t think this will have much of an effect on the cost of conveyancing in 2024, it should eventually bring the cost of conveyancing down - as the process will be shorter and smoother.”
