Latest news with #RoyalInstitutionofCharteredSurveyors
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
RICS: Construction activity is on the rise across Wales
The increase has been reported for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Monitor for the second quarter of 2025. The growth, driven by both public and private housebuilding, has not been matched by a rise in profit margins. Sam Rees, interim head of public affairs UK and Ireland at RICS, said: "It's encouraging to see construction activity picking up in Wales and housing being the main driver. "This was also evidenced in NHBC's most recent quarterly report which also shows a rise in the number of new homes registered in Wales. "However, it is important to note that even with an uplift in activity, there is still much progress to be made in building enough homes to meet housing need. "The Welsh Government has an ambitious target of creating 20,000 homes by next year, and it's hoped this momentum can continue, particularly in regard to social and affordable housing." A net balance of 22 per cent of surveyors in Wales reported increased construction activity, the highest level since early 2022. Public housing saw the strongest growth, with a net balance of 38 per cent reporting a rise, while private housing recorded a 24 per cent increase. Profit margins are expected to remain flat over the next year. While this figure is subdued, it is up from -7 per cent reported in the previous survey.
Business News Wales
4 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Wales Construction Workloads Rise for Fifth Consecutive Quarter
Construction workloads in Wales continued to rise through the second quarter of the year according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Monitor, underpinned by activity in both public and private housing. A net balance of 22% of surveyor respondents in Wales reported a rise in overall construction activity, which is the highest this balance has been since early 2022. This includes increases in both public and private sector housebuilding activity, with a net balance of 38% of respondents noting a rise in public housing workloads and a net balance of 24% reporting there was an increase in the private sector. Looking at the other subsectors, 'other public works' (a net balance of 13%), private commercial (a net balance of 29%) and infrastructure (a net balance of 11%) workloads saw increases in activity, whilst the private industrial sector was the only one to see a decline, with a net balance of -25% of Welsh respondents reporting a fall. Surveyors in Wales remain optimistic about future workloads, according to the survey, but less so than seen previously. A net balance of 14% of respondents expect an increase over the next year, which is down from the 20% that was reported in the first quarter of the year. When it comes to profit margins, surveyors in Wales expect that these to be fall flat over the next 12-months. Whilst this figure is subdued, it is up from the net balance of -7% that was reported in the survey previous. Welsh surveyors continue to report shortages in skilled workers. 58% report a shortage in quantity surveyors, 46% note a shortfall in other construction professionals and 47% report a deficit in bricklayers, all of which were similar figures reported in the first survey of the year. Despite the continuing growth in workloads in the sector, survey respondent Richard Blakemore of FR Consultants Ltd in Barmouth noted that there are Building Safety Regulator decision delays. Robert Davies of Penfro Consultancy Limited also said: 'A lack of clear visibility of local government expenditure and the protracted planning process are impacting release of projects to the construction delivery phase.' Sam Rees, interim head of public affairs UK&I at RICS, added: 'It's encouraging to see construction activity picking up in Wales and housing being the main driver. This was also evidenced in NHBC's most recent quarterly report which also shows a rise in the number of new homes registered in Wales. However, it is important to note that even with an uplift in activity, there is still much progress to be made in building enough homes to meet housing need. The Welsh Government has an ambitious target of creating 20,000 homes by next year, and it's hoped this momentum can continue, particularly in regard to social and affordable housing.' Commenting on the UK picture, RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: 'The underlying tone in the construction sector remains subdued according to the latest feedback from RICS members. There is a little more positivity looking forward but the indicators, at this point, are consistent with a modest rather than material uplift in development. 'Given that planning continues to be viewed as the major factor hindering the industry from upscaling its building programme, it is quite conceivable that the passing of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will in due course see industry expectations move onto a firmer footing. That said, the need to ensure the building safety regime works more smoothly is also highlighted quite widely in the survey as a factor that would likely impact the pace of development. 'The other big challenge remains around skills. While typically much of the conversation is focused of shortages of trades such as bricklayers and plumbers, the RICS survey highlights recruitment issues amongst professionals involved in the construction industry with building control surveyors and quantity surveyors in short supply.'
South Wales Guardian
10-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Home buyer inquiries increase overall for first time this year
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which released the report, said the figures point to a period of stabilisation rather than a strong recovery. Its report for the month of June found that a net balance of 3% of property professionals saw new buyer inquiries rise rather than fall. This was the first time since December 2024 that buyer demand has moved out of negative territory, the report said. It is also a noticeable improvement compared with May, when a balance of 22% of professionals reported a fall in new buyer inquiries, the report said. Despite the positive trend, surveyors expect sales momentum to remain subdued in the near-term, with a broadly flat outlook for sales volumes over the next 12 months. New instructions to sell have seen a slight decline, with a net balance of 3% of professionals seeing a rise in June, down from 7% in May. While this signals a slowdown in the flow of new listings, 16% of professionals reported an increase in market appraisals compared to the same period last year, indicating that supply levels remain relatively healthy. House prices continued to follow a flat or slightly negative trend in June, with a net balance of 7% of professionals seeing price falls rather than increases. The South East, East Anglia and London have seen a more pronounced decline in prices, while Northern Ireland, the North West, Scotland, and the East Midlands experienced clear growth, Rics said. Looking ahead, professionals expect the slightly negative trend at the UK-wide level to continue in the short-term. But when asked about the 12-month outlook, 24% of survey participants expect to see house price increases. Stamp duty changes from April caused some sales to be bunched up earlier in the year as buyers rushed to beat the deadline. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland. In the lettings market, tenant demand remained largely flat, with a net balance of 2% of professionals seeing a fall rather than an increase. Landlord instructions continued to decline, with a net balance of 24% of professionals seeing a fall. Tarrant Parsons, Rics head of market research and analysis, said: 'The UK residential market appears to be entering a more settled phase, with demand showing signs of stabilising following a period of volatility. 'The earlier distortion caused by transactions being brought forward ahead of the stamp duty changes now appears to have largely dissipated, allowing underlying trends to re-emerge. 'Encouragingly, near-term sales expectations have begun to edge higher, pointing to a modest shift in sentiment. That said, confidence in the market remains somewhat delicate, with economic uncertainty at both the domestic and global level still seen as a potential headwind.' Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank said: 'Demand is recovering after the March stamp duty deadline meant transactions were pulled forward into the first quarter of the year. 'However, as buyers return, they have a lot of stock to choose from, which is putting downwards pressure on prices. Rate cut expectations have grown over the last six weeks due to weak UK economic data, which should support demand over the second half of the year and produce modest single-digit price growth in 2025. A re-run of last year's game of 'guess the tax rise' ahead of the Budget is the biggest risk for sentiment.' Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown said: 'The number of renters looking for a home has remained stable, but landlords continue to pack up and leave the business, so there's still real competition for properties, rents continue to rise and they're expected to keep climbing. 'This is the last thing tenants want to hear, because their finances are already so stretched. The HL (Hargreaves Lansdown) savings and resilience barometer shows on average they only have enough savings to cover two-and-a-half months of essentials – falling short of the amount they need to withstand any nasty surprises. 'Meanwhile, those with a mortgage have enough for more than six months on average, so they have somewhere to turn when times are tough.'
Business Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
UK homebuyer demand rebounds to a six-month high, index shows
[LONDON] A closely watched gauge of demand from potential British homeowners climbed to its highest level in six months, a signal that the real estate market is starting to stabilising from a tax-increase induced slowdown that's weighed on house prices. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its index tracking new buyer inquiries rose to +3 in June, indicating the number of estate agents seeing higher demand outnumbered those reporting a drop, figures released on Thursday (Jul 10) showed. It was the first positive reading since December and a sharp jump from -22 in May. Improving demand indicates the property market is steadying from the impact of the increase to the stamp-duty tax, which fuelled a spurt of buying before it kicked in and a steep slowdown afterwards. Even so, the pace of sales remains relatively subdued, in part due to a slowing economy and anxiety about the outlook. 'The earlier distortion caused by transactions being brought forward ahead of the Stamp Duty changes now appears to have largely dissipated, allowing underlying trends to re-emerge,' said Tarrant Parsons, head of market research and analysis at RICS. The RICS house-price indicator was largely unchanged at -7 in June, bucking analyst expectations that it would continue to decline. Other recent reports have sent relatively mixed signals, with Nationwide reporting a drop in prices while Halifax indicated they were little changed. But property agents forecast aggregate prices will continue to trend downwards in the near-term before improving over the next year, according to RICS. 'Encouragingly, near-term sales expectations have begun to edge higher, pointing to a modest shift in sentiment,' Parsons said. 'That said, confidence in the market remains somewhat delicate.' BLOOMBERG
New Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
UK housing market steadies after tax hike downturn
MANCHESTER: A downturn in Britain's housing market that followed a tax hike on property transactions in April eased off in June, according to chartered surveyors who expect a broadly flat picture in the months ahead. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said on Thursday its measure of new buyer enquiries turned positive for first time since December and agreed sales also improved. But the change suggested a stable market rather than an upturn. A balance of house prices was steady at -7 per cent, meaning more surveyors reporting prices fell than rose, with London and the south east of England among the regions with the biggest drops. The survey chimed with other signs of a subdued property market after buyers rushed earlier in the year to beat the March 31 expiry of a tax break for some home purchases. Earlier this week, mortgage lender Halifax said house prices were flat last month. An expected further drop in interest rates later this year is likely to help the market, analysts have said. "The UK residential market appears to be entering a more settled phase, with demand showing signs of stabilising following a period of volatility," said Tarrant Parsons, RICS head of market research and analysis. "The earlier distortion caused by transactions being brought forward ahead of the Stamp Duty changes now appears to have largely dissipated, allowing underlying trends to re-emerge." Parsons pointed to a modest increase in expectations for sales in the near term but he said economic uncertainty - at home and globally - could hit activity. (
