RICS 2nd Quarter Arts and Antiques Survey Shows Continued Growth

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has released their second quarter arts and antiques survey.  The results continue to be positive, with all categories showing positive growth.  The survey does mention the upward pressure on prices is driven by the upper end of the market.  If that statistic is important to point out, I would then assume the middle market continues to struggle.

The report summary states:

Price rises gather momentum, driven by higher end

* The All Lot price balance records sixth positive reading
* Price rises at the higher end of the market gather momentum, in contrast to lower end
* The best performing sub-sectors continue to be Silver and Jewellery; the worst performing are Ceramics and Clock

Read the Arts and Antiques survey Q2 2010 in full.

Arts and Antiques price rises gathered further momentum in Q2, the latest RICS Arts and Antiques Survey shows. The All Lot balance increased from +22 to +24 i.e. 24% more respondents saw prices rise rather than fall (the highest reading since the survey began in Q1 2008).

A breakdown of the survey results shows that price increases at the higher end of the market i.e. above £5,000 gathered momentum, whereas below this threshold, prices continued to rise but at a slower pace. Indeed, in the £1-£1,000 and £1,000—£5,000 categories, the price balances fell from +24 to +20 and from +27 to +16 respectively.

However, in the £5,000-£50,000 and £50,000+ categories, the price balances rose from +18 to +25 and from +18 to +36 respectively. Anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that buyers are putting a premium on the very best items, given their low availability at the moment.

Ten of the eleven sub-sectors (including the newest category, Watches) showed a positive balance. Only Ceramics recorded a negative balance, but at –2, this suggests the price falls were very small. The best performing sub-sectors continued to be Silver and Jewellery. The Silver balance increased from +57 to +58 and the Jewellery balance increased from +41 to +48. These areas have been buoyed by the persistent strength in precious metal prices.

To read the full RICS Arts and Antiques Survey, click HERE.