To tie in with this quarter’s Estates Gazette Property Sentiment Survey (p64), we asked more than 500 property professionals how confident they felt about the industry over the next 12 months.
The survey for Q3 2012 saw overall confidence move from a negative score on the index to a positive one. Asked whether they agreed with this result, responses were mixed. More than half said they did not know if they were surprised or not, stating they could not say whether they were more or less confident about the next 12 months than they were three months ago. A quarter of panellists said they were surprised by the result as they were feeling less confident moving into 2013, and 20% said they were not surprised at all.
On which sectors respondents thought would see the most growth over the next 12 months, more than half said residential, with industrial second and retail and offices trailing behind. Social housing was suggested as another sector that could perform well.
On which sector was likely to be the worst performer, nearly 60% of panellists said retail, and comments suggested that the regions would be the most at risk.
The Big Question is a weekly poll testing the temperature of the UK property market. To join the panel and make your voice heard, go to www.estatesgazette.com/bigquestion
