Chartered Building Surveyors & Architectural Designers
Appleby Petfield is a firm of Chartered Surveyors. We offer a personal service to our clients. We undertake a range of services, which are listed in the tabs on the left. These include surveys of buildings both residential and commercial. We undertake RICS HomeBuyers Surveys and Condition Reports.
If you wish to extend or alter your property Appleby Petfield can provide Architectural Services in the form of drawings prepared on AutoCAD, we can apply for Planning, Listed Building and Building Control Consents.
If you are a Landlord or a tenant we can provide advice on dilapidations, repairs and alterations. If you are in dispute we can also provide expert witness and party wall advice.
Appleby Petfield News
Valuation instructions through our partner organisations have continued to increase whilst instructions for Planning and Building Control Approvals have maintained a steady growth.
We are expanding business into different areas. We joined Upshoot, an online enquiry portal having been allocated Sussex as our core area.
We continue to work with many of our longstanding existing clients from individuals, businesses and website-based portals to provide services in key areas across Sussex and adjacent counties.
In Tammy Gooch joined the secretarial team for Felicity. Tammy has taken up the reins working hard to develop her own skill base. We wish Felicity well and wish to offer our heartfelt thanks for her enthusiasm, drive and dedication over the last 14 years.
Property Market
The economy and markets continue to move relatively slowly and have been stable since the general election in July. Inflation has fluctuated a little and sits around the desired 2% target, The Labour budget in early November has had little negative effect on the markets and the Spring Budget statement will set out plans for 2025 and beyond. Growth is slow and the tax burden high.
The stamp duty thresholds have now reset. There was a little flurry of activity to beat the changes, but values remained stable. Property prices are sensitive and too high asking prices will not generate lower offers. The right value will sell a house but too high and it will just sit. There is generally plenty of choice and competition for buyers is low.
Bank base rates have fallen by 0.50% between November and February. Rates were held in late March. Slow growth and static inflation continues to reduce the likelihood of a further rate cuts. Wage rises are stabilising, but negative growth may occur once new living wage rates and higher Employers NI come into force. The banks and markets remain nervous of global economic patterns since Trumps inauguration in Jan 2025 and the introduction of global Tariffs, retaliation allied with the impact on the markets of Elon Musk’s negative actions.
Moving forward through 2025, growth in the economy remains necessary to offset tax changes and public sector pay rises to avoid market and economy stagnation. Improvement in capital investment should provide a stimulus to economic growth. Values are likely to remain price sensitive and properties need to be listed at the correct level to benefit from viewings and offers.
Tariffs and “trade wars” aside, increases in Council Tax, Electricity and Gas price tariffs amongst other increases will slow investment and may stagnate the economy later in the year. The Cost-of-Living Crisis continues, and this will slow property decisions moving forward. At present with the economy, employment and markets generally stable, no significant market changes are anticipated.
