All articles by Brian Green – Page 25
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Comment
CIPS talk of optimism is baffling
The CIPS appeared to be putting a rather positive spin on its July figures for construction activity on the back of a slowdown in the pace of decline and swelling optimism among its respondents.The press release reads: "Optimism about future activity levels in twelve months' time continued to increase in ...
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Comment
Why contractors can't help suicidal bidding when the workload turns down
The most concerning issue now facing construction as it dives deeper into recession is that of firms taking on work at less than cost.This is not sustainable business behaviour.More than falling workloads, falling prices defined the chaos that ravaged the industry during the recession of the 1990s.Worryingly, there are the ...
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Comment
Contractors face a £24 billion drop in new work
UK contractors should prepare themselves for a £24 billion drop in the annual cash value of new work coming through as the recession reaches its expected bottom in 2011.Shrinking volumes and plunging prices threaten to drag the cash spent on buying new construction work down from £70 billion in 2007 ...
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Comment
Another one for the file marked "Gloom": What do you mean you haven't got one yet?
Many thanks to Mel Budd of Leading Edge who sent me the consultancy's latest forecast. For simplicity's sake I have put the base figures for output in a graph with the other industry forecasts.What is striking is the growing consensus that things are looking horrid and there is a lot ...
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Comment
Nationwide ponders the unthinkable: A house price rise for 2009
The latest figures from Nationwide show a rise in prices for the third month on the trot, which puts the price of an average house at 1.3% more than at the start of the year.This sign of buoyancy is not isolated, we are seeing various indexes pointing to an uplift ...
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Comment
House prices are flat lining, says Hometrack
For the third month in a row Hometrack has registered steady house prices, with a perkier southern market compensating for weaker activity in the north.But this has not led Richard Donnell, Director of Research at the housing market data provider, to call the bottom of the market.Viewed in isolation, ignoring ...
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Comment
Odd ideas to kickstart house building No 93: Just give first-time buyers £10,000
What would happen if the taxpayer (via the Government) decided to give first-time buyers otherwise unable to raise a deposit £10,000 so they could buy a new home?The answer, at least on the face of it, is a bit quirky and, perhaps, for house builders quite delightful.The sums suggest the ...
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Comment
Seven years of construction growth wiped out say GDP figures
The latest GDP figures showed a marked slowdown in the rate of collapse of the economy.But the drop of 0.8% was significantly more than economists were expecting, if the mood judged by Reuters gives a fair assessment. The median of its poll of economist put the expected second quarter fall ...
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Comment
The spike mystery solved...well maybe
Following the poser I posted on that rather surprising spike in planning times for residential schemes, I have had a few questions and a few suggestions.The pint for the first (and sensible) response going to Alasdair Reisner, Head of Industry Affairs at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association.But by way of ...
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Comment
Rightmove data suggests a testing time for house prices
One figure in the commentary alongside the latest set of Rightmove statistics caught my eye - apparently there has been a 20% increase in sellers coming to the market compared with the previous year.Rightmove puts this down to resurgence in home movers putting their current homes on the market with ...
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Comment
What an amazing spike! Any thoughts on the causes?
Here's a mystery.I have my own theories, and admittedly have the advantage of the data to test them, but I was wondering if there are any of you out there who have any views as to what might lie behind this rather surprising effect of the credit crunch.I will refrain ...
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Comment
House prices likely to rise say surveyors
The shortage of homes on the market has provided surveyors with increased confidence that house prices may rise, according to the latest RICS survey.For the first time since May 2007 more surveyors polled by the RICS expect house prices to rise than expect them to fall.And the RICS sales to ...
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Comment
It's worse in construction than we thought say forecasters
The latest forecasts to emerge in the current round all see the future prospects for construction as far gloomier than was expected when the number crunchers examined the figures three months or so ago.Experian now expects a 12% decline this year compared with an 8% fall and Hewes has shaded ...
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Comment
Recent housing data poses the question: Higher, Lower or Stick for prices?
The latest Halifax house price figures showing a 0.5% drop, stacked on top of recent data from Nationwide, Hometrack and a range of others, suggest that prices may be holding steady.But what should we read into that? Which way from here for prices? Will this period of relative stability (a) ...
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Comment
Building Britain's Future promises 45,000 new jobs building homes - That can't be right
Has anyone else prodded the sums on the 45,000 new jobs promised in the Building Britain's Future document as a result of the £1.5 billion pledged to stimulate building of 20,000 social and 10,000 private homes?I would have had a poke at them earlier but I was sunning myself for ...
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Comment
Recession may cost 800,000 construction jobs - that's one in three
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association puts the annual peak to trough fall in construction at a shade above 20%.That probably translates to a 22% to 23% fall peak to trough on a quarterly basis, which compares with the 15% seen in the 1990s recession.This is a sharp ...
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Comment
Average weekly earnings go up in construction
I took a quick glimpse at the Average Weekly Earnings figures out today to see if there was an obvious sign of downward pressure on those employed in construction.Well comparing the average weekly earnings over the three months to this April with the same period a year ago we get ...
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Comment
Housing market medicine working, says CML
The latest forecast from the Council of Mortgage Lenders paints a more positive outlook for the housing market than it did when it last forecast in December.It now thinks repossessions this year will hit 65,000, 10,000 fewer than previously thought, with fewer mortgages falling into arrears and net lending shrinking ...
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Comment
Rightmove figures provide food for thought on house prices
The latest figures divined from the property website Rightmove show that asking prices fell 0.4% in the month. And at first sight this seem a little at odds with most of the data coming from the housing market of late.There is data to suggest that there are growing expectations of ...
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Comment
Why you should fear good news
What are journalists looking to provide when it comes to a news story.Well "TRUTH"The story should be Topical, Relevent, Unusual, with a bit of Tension or conflict and, very importantly, it should have Human interest.Now let's think about it......Unusual eh? ...mmm.So if the story you read is going to ...