In our latest Spotlight Interview, we spoke to Mike Clark, Product Owner & Co-Founder at Survey Sphere. Mike talks about how they are supporting property valuations, impact on the social housing sector and their involvement in driving sustainability efforts. “Traditionally, property inspections require inspectors to travel to sites, leading to significant travel-related carbon emissions. SurveySphere eliminates up to 66% of these emissions by enabling inspections to be conducted remotely, without sacrificing accuracy or efficiency. This not only reduces the environmental impact of travel but also increases the frequency and consistency of property assessments.”

Q1- Can you give us a brief overview about SurveySphere and what led to the development of your solution?

SurveySphere is a remote property inspection platform that emerged from the need to improve efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability in property inspections. Initially, the idea was driven by concerns about the time and emissions associated with travel, as well as the quality of valuations being conducted using Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). These concerns included a potential “house of cards” scenario in the property market. We also recognized the need for a solution that could improve the quality and volume of imagery that companies hold related to their stock, crucial for lenders carrying out valuations effectively. Additionally, there was a noticeable disparity in the frequency of inspections between social housing and the private rented sector. As the concept evolved, it’s became clear that industries such as social housing, repairs and maintenance, valuations, commercial appraisals, energy efficiency, and building control can all benefit from these principles, with even more sectors likely to follow. SurveySphere offers a scalable, AI-powered platform that meets these needs, delivering high-quality data, enabling frequent inspections, while reducing carbon emissions.

Q2- How does Survey Sphere improve and support residential property valuations?

SurveySphere enhances residential property valuations by providing a detailed, AI-powered solution for properties that cannot be fully assessed through Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). While AVMs are still the fastest option for simpler cases, SurveySphere steps in when more in-depth analysis is required. It integrates with a wealth of additional data sources, including recent sales prices, flood risk assessments, and EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) data, offering a more complete picture of the property’s condition. This comprehensive approach enables valuers to make more accurate decisions, reducing risk for lenders and improving valuation quality. By eliminating the need for site visits, SurveySphere also reduces carbon emissions and increases efficiency, particularly for properties outside the scope of AVMs.

Q3- How does SurveySphere help the Social housing market with their current challenges around stock condition and damp, mould & condensation?

The social housing sector is facing significant challenges when it comes to maintaining an accurate understanding of stock condition. Issues like damp, mould, and condensation are becoming more urgent, particularly in the wake of Awaab’s Law, which has highlighted the severe health risks these problems pose to tenants. Despite this, there remains a distinct lack of visibility into the real condition of social housing stock. Although consumer standards have been updated to suggest that housing providers need a better understanding of their properties, these stock assessments are still only carried out once every few years, far less frequently than in the private rented sector.

This gap in oversight makes it difficult to address issues proactively. Problems like damp and mould often go undetected until they become severe, leading to costly repairs, legal challenges, and most importantly, negative health impacts on tenants. The current approach is neither cost-effective nor efficient in ensuring housing stock is maintained to an acceptable standard.

SurveySphere helps address these challenges by enabling more frequent and accurate inspections of social housing properties at a fraction of the cost. With AI-driven technology, we can ensure that housing providers have a real-time understanding of stock condition, allowing them to detect and address issues like damp and mould early, before they escalate. This not only helps housing associations comply with regulations but also ensures a safer, healthier environment for tenants.

Q4- How does the solution support sustainability efforts in the real estate industry, particularly in resource management and decarbonisation?

SurveySphere plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainability within the real estate industry by dramatically reducing carbon emissions through remote property inspections. Traditionally, property inspections require inspectors to travel to sites, leading to significant travel-related carbon emissions. SurveySphere eliminates up to 66% of these emissions by enabling inspections to be conducted remotely, without sacrificing accuracy or efficiency. This not only reduces the environmental impact of travel but also increases the frequency and consistency of property assessments.

The shift to remote inspections has a profound effect on decarbonisation efforts. By transitioning a small to moderate portion of inspections in the UK from building control, private rented, social housing and residential surveys from in-person to remote, SurveySphere can prevent approximately 94,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Each remote inspection prevents around 7.5 kg of CO2 by eliminating the need for travel, providing an immediate and scalable way to cut emissions in the real estate sector.

In the long term, SurveySphere’s ability to reduce travel emissions and improve operational efficiency across various property-related industries contributes to the decarbonisation of the built environment. As organizations strive to meet ambitious sustainability/ESG targets, SurveySphere provides a practical, impactful solution to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining high standards of property management and inspection.

Q5- What are your plans for the next 3-5 years and how do you see digital transformation affecting land and building surveying in the coming years?

In the next 3-5 years, we are focused on scaling SurveySphere to the masses. To create a lasting impact, we need widespread adoption across industries such as social housing, building control, and residential surveying. The more organizations using SurveySphere, the more transformative the effect on how property inspections are carried out. Partnerships will play a key role in this growth. We are actively seeking technology partners who see the benefit of remote inspections for their customers. This technology is not “run of the mill”, it’s highly complex, and we can vouch for how challenging it is to get right! That’s why partnering with us is a quick win for organizations looking to leverage advanced remote inspection capabilities.

We also see tremendous potential in the continued development of AI and computer vision. Over the next few years, as these technologies evolve, we’ll be able to extract even more valuable data from the images we capture. This will enhance our understanding of property stock, enabling more accurate assessments and improving overall property management. The digital transformation will also lead to significant improvements in data quality and create comprehensive digital footprints of housing stock, helping organizations make better proactive decisions, optimize maintenance, and achieve sustainability goals.

Overall, it’s an incredibly exciting industry to be a part of, and we’re buckling up to see where the next few years take us.