Conveyancers Ready Themselves For Post-Christmas Buyer Surge

Conveyancers Ready Themselves For Post-Christmas Buyer Surge

Even though most legal service workers are looking forward to a festive break, conveyancers should prepare themselves for an onslaught of additional work in the opening months of 2020. 

According to new research from Rightmove, five of the six busiest days of 2019 happened to take place in January and February with property experts predicting a similar pattern as we enter the next decade. 

As potential home movers find homes for their various Christmas items, a post-Christmas funk could act as a catalyst for increased buyer activity. Rightmove found that the use on their website rises on average by 231% between Boxing Day and the 2nd January. 

Conveyancers should therefore ready themselves for the renewed and refreshed vigour of rested buyers in the opening months of 2020.  

13th January, 21st January, 27th January, 2nd February and the 12th February all made up the top six working days in the property sector last year and conveyancers should prepare themselves for similar activity. 

Similarly, recent research from outsourced communications expert, Moneypenny, has also found a significant spike in client activity in the week following Christmas. 

Live chat messages made to legal businesses rose by 1,124% in the week after Christmas in 2018 when compared with the week before Christmas.   

With so many clients determined to resolve their legal service issues just after Christmas, legal service providers are not going to have a lot of time to relax over the festive period.    

Live chat facilities have been embraced by the legal sector in recent years with Moneypenny experiencing a 115% increase in law firm uptake in 2019 alone. 

Ella Nelson, business development manager at Moneypenny, said 

“Traditionally, we see a spike in calls in the first week of January, particularly the first working day back. Nowadays though, more and more people are contacting law firms using live chat – including many messages on Christmas Day.  

“Spending time in close quarters with family over the festive break can put life into perspective for people and in today’s 24/7/365 society, many can’t wait until the new year to call a solicitor and instead opt for an immediate way to discuss proceedings.  

I’d urge any firm that doesn’t currently have a live chat service to consider the possible loss of revenue and frustration it could cause among potential clients.” 

“By investing in technology such as call answering and live chat, firms can rest assured that every lead will be captured while they’re getting into the Christmas spirit. What’s more, they’re protecting brand reputation and getting a headstart on building a healthy pipeline for 2020.” 

Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s property expert, said:  

“We know just how obsessed the nation is with property, but to see such precise consistency in terms of browsing times is really quite remarkable.  

It may be that the Wednesday peak of 8.48pm coincides with the final advert break of many TV shows. A few years back the busiest time of day was lunchtime but as mobile usage increased this has changed to property lovers revisiting us every evening. 

“As we move into December, we see people start to get distracted by turkey and tinsel, but once the celebrations are in full swing it doesn’t take long before traffic rises again.  

Some may realise their home is too small or they finally decide that next year will be the year they take on an exciting project and buy a fixer upper property.” 

Is your law firm ready for the post-Christmas surge in legal activity? 

Martin Parrin

Martin is a Senior Content Writer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills and Probate, Today’s Legal Cyber Risk and Today's Family Lawyer Having qualified as a teacher, Martin previously worked as a Secondary English Teacher that responsible for Head of Communications. After recently returning to the North West from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Martin has left teaching to start a career in writing and pursue his lifelong passion with the written word.

1 Comment

  • In reality, though, nobody is ‘readying themselves’ for any such rush.
    It might happen; it might not. The urge to generate work is perhaps a figment of Estate Agents’ imnagination.

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