The 2026 QS forecast: where the market’s going; and how to stay ahead The QS world is changing fast. Rates, demand, project pipelines, all shifting at once. But most Quantity Surveyors are still making career decisions based on 2023 data. Our new report, The 2026 QS Forecast , lifts the lid on what’s coming next, and what it means for your career over the next 18 months. 👉 Download it here: clearnorth.co.uk/the-2026-QS-forecast The market has moved, quietly You might not feel it day-to-day, but the landscape is already different: Regional rates are diverging. Permanent salaries are catching up to freelance. Major contractors are locking in talent earlier to protect delivery. If you’re not tracking these shifts, you risk getting caught in a flat spot; same workload, same pay, less leverage. The forecast shows exactly where the movement is happening , and how top-tier QS's are positioning themselves to benefit. What you’ll find inside 📈 Where the money’s moving: regional rate forecasts and sector hot-spots. 🧱 Who’s hiring (and why) : which projects are still growing, and where stability sits. 🔁 Freelance vs perm : how the balance is shifting, and what that means for security. ⚠️ Career risk signals : early indicators your current setup might be under pressure. 🧭 Strategic next steps :practical ways to future-proof your value before the market tightens. This isn’t a job board report. It’s intelligence. Built for people who take their career as seriously as the projects they deliver. Why this matters now By mid-2026, the commercial landscape will look nothing like it does today. QS's who prepare now; who understand where demand, rates and stability are heading, will have more control, more choice, and stronger negotiation power. Those who don’t? They’ll be reacting to someone else’s plan. Stay ready, not reactive The best careers aren’t built on luck. They’re built on clarity; knowing what’s next and how to use it. The 2026 QS Forecast gives you that clarity. Read it before the market catches up. 👉 Download the full guide: https://www.clearnorth.co.uk/the-2026-QS-forecast  clearnorth. The QS People. Trusted insight. Clear direction. Career moves that last.

The real opportunity isn’t above ground; it’s under your feet.

Sometimes the taxman roars. But sometimes he undercuts his own roar; and you should pay attention.

As commercial professionals move up the ladder, something familiar happens. Seniority grows. Responsibility piles on. Stress levels rise. But the reward? It doesn’t always keep pace. Tax thresholds close in. Pay rises feel smaller after deductions. And for many Quantity Surveyors, the extra workload starts to feel less like progression, and more like a penalty. So it’s no surprise that more are asking: Why climb higher when freelance offers freedom, focus, and a fairer take-home? The quiet cap on motivation According to HMRC data, the 40% higher-rate tax band now begins at £50,270 , unchanged since 2021 (HMRC, 2024). Inflation and pay progression have quietly pulled more professionals into higher tax brackets, a phenomenon economists call fiscal drag. The result? You earn more, but you don’t keep more. With inflation still above the 2% target (ONS, 2025), real wages for many mid- to senior-level professionals have gone backwards. That’s why the question is shifting from “How do I move up?” to “Is there a smarter way sideways?” Why today’s market is built for freelancers Freelance Quantity Surveyors are in the right place at the right time. Project demand remains high across infrastructure, civils, and build sectors, but permanent headcount growth has slowed as firms protect costs. The gap is being filled by short-term, high-value freelance support. Reports from Turner & Townsend and RICS Construction Market Survey both highlight the same trend: Delays and funding pressure have made project pipelines unpredictable. Contractors are scaling delivery capacity up and down in real time. Freelance specialists are now the go-to solution for commercial control. Put simply: projects need capability now,not six months from now. That’s why freelance QS's are thriving. Short scopes. Flexible commitments. Immediate commercial impact, without the long-term overhead. The money gap is widening Permanent QS salaries are struggling to keep up with inflation. The latest RICS / Hays Construction & Property Salary Guide (2024) showed average salary growth of 3–4% , while CPI inflation averaged 5–6% over the same period (ONS, 2025). Meanwhile, freelance QS's are billing £350–£500+ per day , depending on region, sector, and experience (ContractorUK Market Rates, 2025). That equates to £90k–£120k annually, with greater flexibility and autonomy. When you operate as a business, you control the levers : Which projects you take on How you structure your week How quickly you grow your rate In other words, you’re rewarded for output, not seniority. Freelance confidence in a cautious market Yes, confidence and funding remain shaky. But that’s exactly why the freelance model works. Businesses are reluctant to expand payroll, but they still need delivery capability. Freelancers provide commercial expertise without long-term risk, and that agility is now a selling point, not a compromise. For Quantity Surveyors with experience, reputation, and delivery consistency, the market is wide open. Choosing yourself If your career strategy depends on pay review cycles or waiting for someone to retire, you’re leaving money on the table. The best in the market aren’t waiting to be chosen. They’re choosing themselves, building a business around their expertise, not a job title. In a world where responsibility rises faster than reward, freelancing isn’t an escape. It’s a recalibration. Freedom, focus, and fair value. That’s what today’s commercial professionals are optimising for. Sources HMRC, Income Tax Rates and Allowances 2024–25 — gov.uk Office for National Statistics, Inflation and Price Indices, March 2025 — ons.gov.uk RICS / Hays, Construction & Property Salary Guide 2024 — rics.org Turner & Townsend, UK Market Intelligence Report 2025 — turnerandtownsend.com ContractorUK, Freelance Market Rates 2025 — contractoruk.com

If you asked 100 Quantity Surveyors how they got their start, you’d get two very different stories. Some began on site; boots on, clipboard in hand, learning the numbers from the ground up. Others came straight out of university; fluent in theory, fluent in Excel, but lighter on real-world context. Both routes produce good QS's. But which gives you the edge? What the market says In a recent LinkedIn poll, 89% of respondents said a trade or site background gives a stronger foundation for commercial roles. Only 11% favoured the graduate-only route . That split isn’t just opinion; it reflects what employers keep telling us. QS's with site experience tend to: Communicate more confidently with project teams Read drawings faster and spot risks earlier Understand where costs actually come from Handle conflict and negotiation more effectively Those things translate directly to profit protection and risk control the two metrics that matter most in any commercial function. What we’re seeing in the market At our recent CLIC events , one pattern stood out: The younger generation of QS's, often university-trained, are struggling with confidence in live project settings. Many aren’t comfortable picking up the phone to chase variations or resolve disputes. Meanwhile, commercial managers are stretched thin, with limited capacity to coach or mentor. The result? Good theory, but slower development. And in a freelance-heavy market where clients pay for immediate value, that gap shows quickly. The freelance vs permanent reality For permanent QS's , a strong employer structure can bridge the gap. With clear progression plans, mentoring, and exposure to client-side interaction, university entrants can grow fast. For freelancers , it’s different. The expectation is impact from day one. Freelance QS's with trade backgrounds often adapt faster because they’ve seen the practical side; they know how a decision on paper plays out on site. That’s why many freelance clients tell us they prefer QS's who’ve “come up through the tools.” It’s not snobbery, it’s commercial confidence. In freelance work, every delay, dispute, or misstep is money lost. Practical experience helps prevent that. The real issue: background or support? But here’s the bigger question: Is this really about background, or about how we develop new talent ? We can’t change someone’s starting point. What we can change is how we prepare and support them once they’re in. Structured mentoring. Shadowing. Exposure to real commercial conversations early, not just spreadsheets. When that happens, the gap between trade and graduate routes narrows fast. What this means for employers and QS's For employers: Don’t just hire on background. Hire on learning agility, then build the framework to turn potential into performance. For QS's: If you’re from a trade route, back your practical edge — but keep building your commercial theory. If you’re from a university route, get closer to site and stay curious about how costs behave in the real world.  The strongest QS's blend both: hands-on understanding with commercial sharpness. The clearnorth view Background gives you a head start. Support turns it into long-term value. That’s the real differentiator between QS's who manage costs and QS's who drive projects forward. clearnorth. The QS People.