Valuation is at the heart of informed real estate decision-making. In a market defined by macro-economic shifts, planning complexity and evolving investment strategies, accurate and forward-looking advice has never been more important.
We spoke to Roger Young, Head of UK Valuation, about the role valuation plays in today’s market, how clients are navigating change, and why integrating specialist expertise such as development viability within the valuation team helps deliver deeper insight and more robust advice.
How would you describe the current valuation landscape in the UK real estate market?
The valuation landscape is being shaped by a number of overlapping factors. Geopolitical and economic uncertainty is causing fluctuations in the cost of finance, and structural shifts across sectors are all influencing how investors and lenders approach real estate. At the same time, as an industry we are using emerging AI tools to support the advice we give to our clients.
In this environment, clients need a valuer who goes beyond simply establishing a figure. Increasingly, they are looking for a deeper understanding of market drivers, risk, liquidity and future value and cashflow performance. Our role is to combine a robust technical approach with detailed market insight to enable our clients to make informed strategic decisions.
What types of services does the valuation team at BNP Paribas Real Estate provide?
Our valuation team provides a comprehensive range of services across the UK property market. This includes loan security valuations for lenders, financial reporting valuations for funds and investors, and advice relating to taxation, development and asset repositioning. We cover investment development and owner-occupied property, while our UK coverage allows us to manage either single assets or complex portfolios.
We operate across all major sectors, including offices, logistics, retail, residential and alternative assets, working with lenders, institutional investors, developers and public sector organisations. The breadth of our client base means we see market trends emerging early, which helps inform the advice we provide.
How has client demand for valuation advice evolved in recent years?
Clients are increasingly looking for more strategic and analytical advice rather than simply a point-in-time valuation. Lenders want deeper insight into income risks, liquidity and asset resilience, while developers and investors are looking for guidance around development potential, risk and viability. ESG remains intrinsic to valuations across all sectors.
Our role often sits at the intersection of investment strategy, development and finance, so the ability to interpret market conditions is critical and we are supported in this by our market-leading investment and agency teams.
Development viability has become an increasingly important topic. How does this sit within the valuation team?
A key strength of our business is that our specialist development viability team sits within the valuation practice. This creates a powerful combination of skills.
Viability analysis is increasingly central to development decision-making, particularly where planning obligations, affordable housing requirements and construction costs play a role in determining what can be delivered. By integrating viability expertise within our valuation team, we are able to provide a more holistic view of development value and risk.
It also allows us to work closely with local authorities, developers and investors to assess whether schemes are deliverable and how projects can move forward in challenging market conditions.
Why is viability analysis becoming so important in today’s market?
Viability has become a critical part of the development process, particularly in the residential sector. Rising build costs, evolving policy requirements and funding constraints mean that schemes must be carefully assessed to ensure they are financially deliverable.
Our viability specialists work with both the public and private sectors to assess development proposals, negotiate planning obligations and support the delivery of new homes and regeneration projects. Having this expertise embedded within the valuation team ensures our advice reflects real-world development economics.
What do you see as the key trends shaping valuations over the next few years?
Sustainability and energy performance will continue to impact value and liquidity across many sectors. At the same time, the repurposing of assets and the growth of alternative sectors will create new opportunities.
More broadly, clients will continue to look for advice that combines valuation with market intelligence and strategic insight. The role of the valuer is evolving, and increasingly it is about helping clients understand not just what an asset is worth today, but how its value might change in the future.
Our valuation team provides independent advice across all property sectors, combining deep market knowledge with specialist expertise including development viability. Working with lenders, investors, developers and public sector organisations, the team helps clients navigate complex market conditions and make confident, informed decisions.
To find out more about our Valuation service, please visit this page; alternatively, to discover more about our Development Viability services, please visit this link.
