Fees for leasehold sales and purchases also grew
Average conveyancing fees for house purchases have increased by 8% from £1,092.89 to £1,184.21 since last year, according to professional home buying company Property Solvers.
Its latest research of 100 residential conveyancing firms also revealed that fees for leasehold sales and purchases grew by 22.6% and 38.24% respectively.
Average residential conveyancing fees for a freehold tenured property sale and purchase in early 2023 stood at £1,119.10 and £1,184.21 respectively, inclusive of VAT. This represents increases of 2.61% for home sales and 8.02% for purchases relative to similar data collected in early 2022.
Property Solvers’ annual research of legal practices in England and Wales also found that average conveyancing costs for leasehold property sales saw more notable increases – by 22.60% for sales from £1,077.20 in 2022 to £1,351.71 in 2023, and by 38.24% for leasehold property purchases from £975.66 in 2022 to £1,436.92 in 2023.
“Despite inflationary pressures, it would seem that many conveyancing firms have decided not to increase their fees too drastically,” Ruban Selvanayagam (pictured), co-founder of Property Solvers, commented. “However, the increase in leasehold conveyancing fees reflects the extra workload required and the idiosyncratic nature of the work.
“For the foreseeable future, it’s often best to avoid quotes that are notably under average – particularly from firms that only have an online presence. Remember to also check the firm’s TrustPilot, Reviews.co.uk, and Review Solicitors pages.”
Property Solvers said that for the research, it approached 100 conveyancing firms for direct quotes. It was assumed that a mortgage was being redeemed upon sale completion or the property was being purchased with a mortgage. Property values in the quote request never exceeded £300,000 for purchase or sale, and the fees do not include disbursements such as telegraphic transfer charges, searches, ID checks, and others.
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