Sharp downturn in private sector housing income drives down fees

摘要

Architects' fees fell in 2014, with a surprise 8.4 per cent drop in income from private sector housing work, new figures show. Across all sectors, fees dipped by 1 per cent in the 12 months to July 2014, according to a report by The Fees Bureau. Income from the public and commercial sectors grew slightly during the period and there was also a 3 per cent rise in architects' hourly rates. But these gains were offset by the significant fall in revenues from private housing work. A Fees Bureau spokesman said: 'The contradictory movements - fees unchanged or lower while hourly rates are up - might be down to a difference between what architects are aiming to charge and what they are being forced to charge.' The annual survey converts data submitted by UK private architects into an inflation-adjusted index, which uses fee levels at the turn of the millennium (represented by 100) as its baseline. This year the cross-sector index fell from 102 to 101, while the private housing index plummeted from 107 to 98 - its lowest ever level.