Notaries pass 5 percent fewer deeds in the first quarter of 2022

The number of deeds executed by notaries in the first quarter decreased significantly, both compared to the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2021. A total of 467,149 deeds were executed last quarter, compared to over 492,322 in the first quarter of last year (-5 percent) and 560,139 in the last quarter of 2021 (-16.6 percent).

The housing market is the main culprit. Notaries executed nearly 20,000 fewer deeds of transfer (-20 percent) compared to both the first and last quarters of 2021. The decline in the number of mortgage deeds is striking. While mortgage advisors have been sending out one celebratory message after another over the past six months about the increase in applications, this increase has not (yet) translated into mortgage deeds. That number decreased by almost 6 percent, from 116,914 in the first quarter of 2021 to 110,083 in the same quarter of this year. Compared to the last quarter of 2021, the number of mortgages decreased even more sharply, by almost 16,000: a decrease of 12.7 percent.

The number of (living) wills continues to rise
In the first quarter of this year, the number of wills increased by 1,448 compared to the first quarter of last year, reaching 77,880, an increase of almost 2 percent. The number of living wills increased by 6,453 to 47,246 in the same comparison, an increase of almost 16 percent. Month-by-month, there was a particularly significant increase in March compared to February: 20 percent more wills and 18 percent more living wills.

Corporate law practice stable
There are no major changes in corporate law practice. The figures for the first quarters of 2021 and 2022 are almost identical. However, significantly more private limited companies (BVs) were incorporated in March, 8,524 compared to 5,457 in February (a 56 percent increase). A similar increase occurred in March of last year.

Changing expectations
Expectations for workload in the coming weeks are mixed. In family and corporate law practices, approximately one-third of respondents participating in the KNB monthly survey report an increase in the number of new cases. For almost two-thirds, the number of new family law cases remains the same. In corporate law practices, more than half expect no changes compared to last month. Less than 10 percent report a decrease in these two notarial practices. In real estate practices, over 46 percent expect little change, over 22 percent expect an increase – despite the difficult housing market – and over 31 percent expect a decrease.