BPF calls on U.K. government to prevent real estate downturn

The British Property Federation has released a statement calling on the U.K. government to consider a raft of policy measures to support real estate, following the publication of a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors report showing a significant decline in confidence, activity and investor interest in U.K. commercial real estate in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Ian Fletcher, director of policy of real estate, at the BPF, said: “This is not the time for knee-jerk reactions, but commercial property and a number of the government’s priorities are interdependent. Ministers must closely monitor developments in the commercial property market and be ready to act in weeks, not months, if evidence continues of a slowdown in investment.”

The RICS U.K. Commercial Property Market Survey for second quarter 2016 showed investment demand for commercial real estate has fallen sharply and, although some immediate turbulence was to be expected following the