Life as a Surveyor in St Andrews

In April, we caught up with Nigel Forrest- Director of our St Andrews office- to ask him a few questions about his role at Allied Surveyors and how his local property market is performing as lockdown restrictions are easing.

Q: How long have you been working in the property sector and how long have you been at Allied Surveyors Scotland?
A: I’ve been working in the property sector for 20 years now and I’ve been with Allied since November 2017- so just coming up for 4 years.

Q: What is the property market like in St Andrews just now?
A: It is very buoyant! We’ve continued to see short supply and high demand which is driving prices up. More recently, we’ve been seeing properties sell for 10-30% over asking price.

Q: What’s a typical day like for you as a surveyor in St Andrews?
A: Well, I am usually up at about 5:30am attending to the animals and assisting with my wife’s horses we have and then I’m in the office for about 8am ahead of a number of surveys I’ll be doing that day. The best bit about the job is that no two days are the same!

Q: Do you have any predictions for the property market in St Andrews over the next 6 months?
A: I think the market will continue to grow, as there is no reason for it to change. There are very few properties coming on to the market in the town centre as it’s a very desirable place to live and of course there is a lot of students in St Andrews.
We’ve noticed that people are coming from out with the area including Glasgow and Edinburgh to purchase a holiday house here as it’s not too far away and there is lots to do for golfers and families.

Q: What’s the best thing about being a surveyor in St Andrews?
A: I think the best thing is that every property is different, and house prices can vary from £150,000 to millions so it’s always interesting to see a real mix of properties. It’s all about location, location, location.

Q: When you’re not working, what hobbies or activities do you like doing?
A: A mixture of dog walks, playing golf and of course attending to my farm, so I’m kept busy when the weekends come!