UK property industry still using cost cutting to cope with real estate downturn, survey reveals

Location data is becoming increasingly important but still not being used to its full potential in driving business efficiency, according to a report from Ordnance Survey.
 
The research, which involved in depth interviews with more than 270 property professionals, including developers, advisors, architects, housing associations and engineers, found that 81% see cost cutting and increasing efficiency as the two most important strategies for dealing with the economic downturn.
 
Despite the turbulent market, 35% of property professionals are still increasing capital expenditure and aiming to recruit personnel with different skills as a coping mechanism, possibly an indication of light at the end of the tunnel as the market starts to recover, it shows.
 
A smaller minority, 33%, think that reducing prices or fees is the way to tackle current economic challenges, it also found.
 
Environmental issues are more worrying to architects than property developers. Only 25% of property developers cite environmental issues as a key pressure for business, compared with 46% of architects.
   
It is property developers and advisors that are more concerned than any other professionals about bureaucracy and red tape, considered a key concern by 50% and 55% of respondents respectively.
 
And some 63% of bigger companies, with more than 500 employees, find changing customer needs as worrying as the economic downturn, compared to only 15% of smaller companies with 1 to 9 employees.
 
It also found that whilst 70% use location data predominantly for project planning, 81% consider geographic and location context to be important, very important or essential to business strategy and planning.
 
Some 80% of property developers see location data as very important or essential, while         97% see the importance of location data increasing or remaining constant and of the respondents who forecast a change in the way that location data is used, 61% forecast an increase in usage.
 
Despite this, 47% of engineers, 43% of housing associations and 41% of property advisors surveyed don’t think they are making the most of the location data that is available to them.
 
‘Location data is becoming increasingly more important when it comes to decision making in the land and property sector, but it still isn’t being used to its full potential as 36% of people don’t think that they currently make the most of this data,’ said Dan Hughes, sector manager of Land and Property at Ordnance Survey.
 
‘Whether underpinning data analysis for property developers, increasing housing association efficiency by identifying high levels of rent arrears and anti-social behaviour, or providing multi-dimensional data on city sites for architects, location data is a fundamental part of the property sector’s business tool kit. Ordnance Survey provides the location data to underpin and support these processes, ultimately allowing property professionals to make better and more informed business decisions,’ he added.