UK Residential Conveyancing Market Report 2025

The eighth annual edition of the report that provides a review of the market, looking at the market structure, key issues and new developments, market size and trends, the key players, future market developments, 4-year forecasts.

Growth returns to the market in 2024 and expected in 2025

• For the first time in two years, the UK residential conveyancing market is starting to show some growth. UK property transaction numbers increased in 2024 along with market value. Further growth in volumes and value are expected in 2025. 
• There are a number of indicators of the number of law firms, solicitors and conveyancers working in residential conveyancing and all of these show a sector that has been losing firms and practitioners in recent years.
• Figures from the law societies in the UK (England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) estimate that there are over 6,000 law firms (January 2025) that generate income from residential conveyancing in the UK but numbers have fallen by 9% since September 2021. Perhaps the most accurate and regularly updated measure of conveyancing firms active in England and Wales is the number of conveyancers registered as account holders with HM Land Registry. By January 2025 there were 3,539 conveyancers with numbers falling steadily since 2022. At the end of 2022 there were just over 4,000 and at the end of 2023 there were 3,838. 
• There were 11,140 solicitors working in residential conveyancing in England and Wales in January 2025 according to data from the Law Society. Since September 2021, 2,000 solicitors have left the sector.
• In terms of the volume of transactions at HM Land Registry, law firm Taylor Rose was top of the list for the first time in 2024 overtaking long-term market leader My Home Move. Taylor Rose dealt with over 18,000 transactions in 2024. The other top five brands were Davisons Solicitors, Setfords Law and Property Legal Services. My Home Move is part of Simplify, a group which includes six other leading conveyancers, so the group is the clear market leader. 
• Volume players are increasing their share of the market albeit only slowly. The market remains highly fragmented with a large population of smaller law firms, including many general practice firms, and conveyancers often focusing on local markets.
• In 2024, the top ten brands claimed 9.7% of all HM Land Registry transactions with the next ten leading brands accounting for a combined 4.4% share.  
• In 2024, 90% of property transactions in the UK were residential transactions. The number of residential transactions declined significantly in 2023 as cost of living pressures plus the slow fall in interest rates and mortgage rates held back some demand. There was some market improvement in 2024 as residential property transactions in the UK increased by 6% after a double-digit decrease of 19% in 2023.  
• After two years of declining market value, the conveyancing market registered market value growth of 4.5% in 2024 and, in 2025, it is forecast to grow by 5.7%. Some further reductions in mortgage rates and improved consumer confidence in the market will be the main drivers of growth.