Most solicitors see estate agents as collaborators rather than competitors, according to the latest in a regular half-yearly survey of trends in the conveyancing market. The study, the third carried out by property search company Searchflow, found that estate agents are the main source of referrals for nearly a quarter of firms.

More than 60% of the 247 respondents said they provide home information packs in-house directly to their clients – up from 50% in the previous survey.

Respondents reported little faith that new HIP regulations, due to come in to force on 6 April, would have any immediate effect.

And despite the wide criticism of HIPs, more than half of those surveyed said that if HIPs were abolished, they would retain some elements of the information compiled when acting for sellers.

David Kempster, Searchflow’s marketing manager, said the results are positive for solicitors, showing they are ‘not just taking the fight to the market’ but remain at the heart of the home buying and selling process.

He said the property information questionnaire, which now has to be filled in by the buyer and included in the HIP, means solicitors must be involved earlier in the process, as estate agents need help filling them in.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: ‘HIPs combined with the current market have led to more collaboration between local groups of estate agents and solicitors, which can only be a good thing.’

But Law Society President Paul Marsh was more sceptical about the findings. He said the closer relationship is the result of referral fees many solicitors pay to estate agents to secure work.

‘One of the anxieties some have about these fees is that the solicitor owes an allegiance to the estate agent rather than to their client,’ he said. ‘It’s very worrying.’