Conveyancers have reported an annual boost in transactions, helped mainly by challenger firms rather than established brands.

The second quarter Conveyancing Market Tracker from software provider Search Acumen found that total conveyancing volumes for England and Wales grew 14% annually to 241,245, although this was down 11% on the first three months of this year.

Firms ranked between 51st and 100th by size in the market experienced the largest yearly transaction growth at 23% compared with 19% among the top 100 conveyancing firms.

Overall, conveyancing firms completed 58 cases on average in the second quarter of this year, up by seven compared with last year but down six on the first quarter of 2018.

Andrew Lloyd, managing director of Search Acumen, said: “There is no doubt that the conveyancing market is facing a challenging 2018, as housing transactions continue to see sluggish growth amid ongoing uncertainty across the country.

“Economically, the year was always going to be an unpredictable period, but our figures give plenty of reason for UK conveyancers to keep a spring in their step.

“Despite the testing environment, it is interesting to see challengers in the market – those mid-sized conveyancers – have enjoyed robust growth over the last year. In contrast, ‘occasional conveyancers’ have continued to diminish in number.

“Technology is already significantly reshaping the conveyancing market and all firms – both large and small – should be preparing for the challenges and opportunities that variances in market activity bring.

“If activity levels remain relatively subdued in the short term it will be interesting to see how the competitive landscape responds.

“Challenger firms are pressing on through uncertain times and the signs suggest that larger firms are getting smarter and more efficient to take advantage of a challenging market.”