Interest rates remaining low for the time being are keeping a lid on the property market from falling further. Last year to date, there was an average increase of about 4% in the South East in capital values, but transaction volume was relatively low.
The building surveyor’s job under such circumstances can become considerably involved when dealing with valuations, as extra care needs to be taken with comparables when dealing with relative valuations in a steady to falling market.
The global economy is currently being dominated by a standoff between the USA and China and it looks as if China is gaining the upper hand. Most analysts are predicting that stagflation is what’s on the menu for this year, in terms of economic growth.
Typically, the Building Surveyor will be relatively busy in the upper sector of the housing market during such economic times, with the lower end of the market being relatively stagnant.
It is also true to say that whilst there is less new build going on at present, which is affecting Architects, Building Surveyors are busy with sorting out refurbishments and renewals on existing buildings, owing to the costs saved in so doing.