MHM predicts 15% of conveyancers to close

myhomemove’s predictions:

• the top 100 firms will increase market share of the mover conveyancing market by 35%*

• 15% of smaller firms will close their doors to conveyancing by the end of 2015 

Launching on 26th April 2014, the introduction of MMR will see lenders showing greater control over borrower mortgage affordability. Alongside this, there will be a need for lenders to have greater control over third party relationships and anyone explicitly involved in the mortgage transaction.

Doug Crawford, CEO of myhomemove, explains, “Over the past few years the conveyancing world has gone through a quiet revolution. In 2006, the top 100 conveyancers accounted for only 15% of mover conveyancing transactions, and today this figure has risen to 26%.”  

“As MMR takes hold we wouldn’t be surprised to see the conveyancing sector polarise even further, especially as lenders continue to tighten their processes, be more selective on who they lend money to and run stricter conveyancing panels; to the point that the top 100 legal firms could command 35% of the market. Alongside this, there also seems to be a real concern amongst networks and intermediaries that they too will also have to show a great level of control over who their clients use in the mortgage process.”

myhomemove’s position as the market leader in mover conveyancing was further cemented as it completed circa 37,000 mover conveyancing transactions in 2013; an increase of 46% since 2011. In contrast, the number of firms who provided a conveyancing service decreased by 8% between 2011 and 2013.

Continuing, Doug said, “It is our belief that smaller legal firms will be the first to feel the effects of MMR, especially as they don’t always have the technology and resources needed to meet the Banks’ anti-fraud criteria to secure a place on their panels. This, coupled with some would-be buyers finding it harder to secure a mortgage, will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect for smaller conveyancers.  Ultimately, we expect to see the number of firms operating in the conveyancing market decrease by around 15% over the next two years.”

What are your views ?  Will smaller firms find it increasingly hard to stay in this market?