Conveyancing: Consumers keen on upfront information
The proportion of home-buyers saying they experienced “unexpected costs” in their transactions has gone up by more than 50% this year, new research has found.
However, buyers did not blame their conveyancers or estate agents, with 85% describing conveyancers’ fees as “transparent”, six percentage points higher than for estate agents’ fees.
More than eight out of 10 home buyers cited uncertainty over who to contact during the different stages of the process as “a major source of stress”.
Researchers from conveyancing technology firm PEXA surveyed 1,000 people aged over 25 who moved in the last year for the UK Home Moving Experience Report 2026.
On costs, 95% said they had experienced unexpected costs, 64% “significant unexpected costs” and 47% costs which “could have been avoided”.
The figure of 95% compares to only 62% in a similar survey last year by Smoove, the conveyancing technology provider bought by PEXA in 2023.
The proportion of home buyers in 2026 reporting unexpected costs grew as home buyers got older, with 81% of those aged 25 to 34 complaining about it, compared to all consumers aged over 55.
Researchers said “internal transaction data” showed that average property transaction costs had reached £8,680, excluding stamp duty.
The “relatively high perceptions of fee transparency” by conveyancers, estate agents and mortgage brokers suggested the problem was “not hidden charges, but fragmented disclosure and poor expectation setting.
“Buyers often commit emotionally and financially before fully understanding the sequence of costs, when payments become due or how issues discovered later can increase expenditure”.
Consumers believed buying a home should take around four months from offer acceptance to completion, but Rightmove had estimated the process at seven or eight months.
PEXA found that only 7% of buyers completed their move without delays, while “around three-quarters experienced disruption relating to conveyancing, mortgage approvals, property chains, surveys, identity checks or communication failures”.
Researchers commented: “Delays have become a structural feature of UK property transactions, driven by fragmented processes, repeated checks and disconnected organisations.
“Improving certainty depends less on speeding up individual tasks and more on enabling trusted information to move efficiently across the transaction.”
Stress was “driven primarily by prolonged uncertainty rather than any single stage of the transaction”. Just over half (55%) of buyers aged 25-34 complained about stress, compared to all buyers aged over 55.
More than seven out of 10 consumers said they felt confident in the updates received from conveyancers, estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders, yet 82% identified “uncertainty over who to contact during different stages as a major source of stress, while 78% said confusion over where to obtain updates contributed to delays”.
More than nine out of 10 home movers said they would be “more likely to choose a fully digital conveyancer”, up from 69% last year, while 75% described themselves as “comfortable using digital verification and online document sharing”.
Almost all consumers (93%) said access to more verified upfront property information would increase their confidence when buying a home.
Krystle Kocik, UK co-CEO of PEXA, commented: “Our research suggests that improving certainty – not just speed – should be the defining objective of the next generation of UK property transactions, and will benefit estate agents, mortgage brokers, lenders and conveyancers.
“Achieving this certainty depends not only on better information, but on ensuring trusted property data, verified identities, the secure movement of funds and the transfer of legal ownership are connected throughout the transaction.
“As government and industry work together to modernise the process, we see a significant opportunity to remove surprises and give consumers more confidence in what is likely the biggest financial commitment of their lives.”
Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, added: “This research shows consumers continue to value professional expertise, while also expecting clearer communication, greater transparency and a more predictable experience.”
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