A key element of our award-winning service is a willingness on the part of all members of the Property Searches Scotland team to do whatever it takes to ensure that customer requirements are fully satisfied.
As everyone operating in the Scottish property market will recognise, the second half of 2020 has been an incredibly busy period. The residential market has been particularly buoyant, with the latest data from Registers of Scotland indicating an increase of 17.8% in residential registrations in October 2020 against the previous year.
As you will all recognise, a significant number of consumers have a strong preference to move home at the end of a month – once monthly salaries have been received. In addition, October month end is a key date for these transactions to complete and householders to settle into their new home in time for the Christmas holidays – whether these are traditional, limited or even “digital” celebrations.
We thought it would be interesting to share some statistics around activity levels at this time, together with the steps taken by our Titles team to ensure reports were returned promptly to enable transactions to complete as smoothly as possible.
• In the final week of October, week ending 30/10/2020, our Titles team published 50.1% more Continuation Legal Reports than in the corresponding week in 2019.
• On the final Thursday of October, i.e. 29/10/2020, our team published 62.7% more Continuation Legal Reports than on the corresponding day in 2019. This figure included circa. 50 urgent reports that were ordered on a same day basis.
• To support these exceptional order volumes, our entire Titles team had commenced working by 6am. All reports had been returned to customers by 1pm or within 30 minutes of our instruction for same day reports.
• On Friday 30/10/2020, when all Continuation Legal Reports are urgent and there really is no wriggle room, due to same day settlement, our Titles team published an incredible 93.8% more Continuation Legal Reports than on the corresponding day in 2019. Again, around 50 urgent reports were ordered.
• The entire Titles team had once again started working by 6am, and all reports had been published by 11am or within 30 minutes of our instruction for same day reports.
We could not be prouder of our entire team and the steps they are prepared to take to ensure our customers receive an unrivalled service.
THAT’S A WRAP! WHAT A YEAR FOR THE SCOTTISH PROPERTY MARKET!
Here, Michael Tolland, Commercial Director- Scotland, reflects on the highs and lows of 2020 and what’s on the horizon for 2021
ANCILLARY SEARCHES - PRICE INCREASE 4TH JANUARY 2021
We have been working hard in the background to ensure ancillary searches remain available for your transactions into the new year and beyond. To enable us to maintain this service our partners in the supply chain will be applying a small price increase of £5 plus VAT, effective 4th January 2021 to each of the searches listed below.