Two-thirds of property professionals say the housing market is no busier than it was before the Autumn Budget calling into question claims of a sharp rebound in activity, new research suggests.

Activity fell to a two-year low last autumn as uncertainty grew over a possible increase in stamp duty. Although no such rise was announced, expectations of a swift recovery now appear to have been overstated.

According to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ (CLC) latest quarterly confidence tracker, only 36% of property professionals believe business has picked up since November, while the majority report little or no improvement in market conditions.

Confidence in overall market stability has improved modestly, however, rising to 54% from 42% in the previous survey, suggesting sentiment is beginning to recover even if transaction levels have not.

BOUNCE BACK TO TAKE LONGER

Buyers and sellers are also showing greater confidence, respondents said. Some 36% of professionals reported that buyers now feel confident in current conditions, up from 17% a year earlier, while seller confidence has increased from 16% to 24%.

Stephen Ward (main picture, inset), director of strategy and external relations at the CLC, said: “It is clear from the responses to our survey that, while some see green shoots of recovery, many believe the predicted bounce back may take a little longer.

“However, there is a sense that buyers and sellers are feeling more confident, albeit that they may not all be in an immediate rush to move.”

EFFICIENCY CONCERNS

The survey also highlighted continued concerns around the speed and efficiency of the conveyancing process.

Just 18% of respondents believe the process is improving rather than deteriorating, with transaction times still averaging three to four months for most cases – unchanged since the tracker began early last year.

The CLC has been involved in recent government consultations on reforming the homebuying and selling process and has partnered with the Open Property Data Association and Raidiam to develop a proof of concept for digitising property data.

SECURE DATA SHARING

The initiative is designed to enable secure data sharing at the outset of a transaction and reduce the number of failed sales.

Ward added: “The current fall-through rate of 30% is unacceptable and must be reduced, and a huge amount of work is being done by the Home Buying and Selling Council and other industry leaders and innovators to make that happen.

“The vision is to deliver a more efficient and reliable system, which will instil confidence in consumers and conveyancers alike and support a healthy housing market for everyone.”