The ‘critical role’ lawyers play in the property market

The report surveyed more than 130,000 consumers who had bought and sold property up until May 2024.

“The lawyers and conveyancers came out as a bit of the shining stars through the process, with 86 per cent of the respondents saying that they had a positive experience with a lawyer and conveyancer. That’s not to say there weren’t challenges, but certainly, from regards to the professionals involved in the process, lawyers and conveyancers definitely came out on top of that, which was good to see.

“Unfortunately, from a bad perspective, 75 per cent of the respondents did say they met challenges throughout the process. One of the ugly ones for me that jumped out was that only 18 per cent of respondents said they had a good experience when actually signing the contract of sale,” Bailie said.

“So, if we want to flip that around and say, well, we’ve got 82 per cent of the population there, the respondents saying they did not have a good experience when actually signing the contract of sale, I think that’s a bit of a concern for all of us, and the reality of that is, I think that’s a real milestone where there is required collaboration between lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agent, banks, etcetera.”

To see the lawyers and conveyancers come out on top in the survey was “very interesting”, added Bailie – and something for the profession to be proud of.

“There’s definitely a bit of a perception that the lawyer or convent is at the end of the process, just trying to get these things moving. The reality is, and I’ve done this for over 15 years now, worked in the industry, the lawyers and conveyance play such a critical role in the process and to some degree, I might argue, are probably undervalued in that,” he said.

“So to see this number come through was very significant, particularly when you put it next to the 47 per cent of people rated the experience they have with the real estate agent as excellent. So when we see we sort of sat there at 86 per cent and the real estate at 47 per cent that there’s definitely some pride we should have in the industry and what we’re providing at the moment. Some of that, I think, comes down to the fact that as people go into this experience, they probably think there’s going to be a few challenges.”

While 75 per cent of respondents said they faced challenges, Bailie said the profession should look at this number as constructive criticism – and a way to continually improve.

“It really is constructive feedback, I think, and something we should be listening to. Of that 75 per cent, unsurprisingly, 33 per cent said that communication was the biggest challenge. So I think when we look at that, our lawyers and conveyancers who are working in this industry do this every day, and we do probably forget to some degree that this is probably the biggest asset that a family or a household is moving in their lifetime and probably only does it maybe four or five times, maybe a little bit less these days,” he said.

“Twenty-one per cent said they didn’t have a good understanding of the legal implications, and another 15 per cent said they didn’t have an understanding of the risks associated with what they were going through. So, if you think about that, if someone doesn’t pay their deposit on time or the balance of their deposit, they can be in breach of the contract overall. And then there are a lot of ramifications from that. I think understanding that further really would be a great aspect for the consumer through the process.”

Interestingly, nearly 20 per cent of respondents said they would have liked a “clearer walkthrough” of the process.

“If you think about that, saying, hey, right between now and going unconditional or exchanging, this is what you need to do from exchange to the booking in the settlement, this is what you need to do in that settlement. This is the process,” Bailie said.

“Really having that knowledge and awareness, I think would see the consumer having greater understanding of the process they’re about to undertake and go through.”

Additionally, 23 per cent of those surveyed wanted greater support from all parties – and greater collaboration between those parties, something which Bailie said the industry needs to work on moving forward.

“Trying to have real estate agents and lawyers and conveyancers work closely together is definitely a challenge, and I think it’s one we should keep working on. But I think what the report is actually telling us is our consumers actually want a real estate agent to be working closer with the lawyer or conveyancer. And if you think about why the experience may be bad, or maybe a challenge, I should say, [is] the sense of urgency.

“You’re being rushed, you could miss out on this, get that in. Or, hey, the purchaser’s looking at another property, you’re going to have to sign this and accept that. And you’ve got that coming from a real estate agent. And then you’re probably trying to say, I want to talk to my lawyer to get their feedback, and the agent saying, you might miss it if you don’t do that,” he said.

“I think you put all that together in a mix, and you’re in a bit of a tinderbox there. So you’ve got heightened emotions already. You’ve got lawyers maybe not being across every step of the transaction because the real estate may have picked some of it up, and then you’ve got potentially not all the due diligence being done that you should be doing, and let’s be honest, and a very significant sum of money about to be outlaid or hopefully coming your way. So, I think all of that elevates the emotions for all parties involved, and I think we can probably do a bit of a better job in the industry at that.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Lee Bailie, click here.