RIBA survey finds amount of work being carried out climbs for thrid quarter in a row

Crane

Architects remain confident about forthcoming work with those in London the most optimistic, according to the latest market survey by RIBA.

The RIBA said practices had reported an 8% improvement in the value of actual work in progress in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter 12 months ago.

RIBA director of practice Adrian Dobson said: “[This represents] the third consecutive quarter of aggregate growth in the value of work being undertaken by the UK architects’ profession.”

He was speaking as the RIBA’s April index for its Future Trends survey stood at +35 – the same as last month’s figure – but still down on February’s high of +41.

All UK nations and regions have returned positive figures, with London the most positive with a balance figure of +45.

Private housing and commercial work lead the way in sectors returning positive figures although the public sector at +4 continues to lag well behind.

The majority of practices, 94%, said they expected their staffing levels to either stay the same or increase during the next quarter.

“The market for architects’ services is becoming more buoyant, especially in the housing and commercial sectors,” Dobson added.

This story first appeared on Building Design.

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