All articles by Brian Green – Page 29
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I don't believe the construction jobs figures...do you?
Many thanks to Jonathan for commenting below on my thoughts on the jobs figures released this morning. He comes from a recruitment background, so sees the situation first hand, and he seems as puzzled as I do over the official data that suggest construction employment is holding firm at a ...
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Are falling rents a prelude to a further nasty correction in house prices?
The latest survey of the rental market by the surveyors' body RICS suggests that the flood of "couldn't sell" properties into the lettings market has led to a sharp fall in rents. And the expectations are that rents will fall further.This rather fits with a recent conversation with an agent ...
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Construction gains 47,000 jobs in 2008 - it may be official but I don't believe it
Apparently there were 2,285,000 or so jobs in construction in the final quarter of last year up 47,000 on a year earlier and just 1,000 down on the quarter before, which appears to be the peak in this economic cycle.Puzzled? Wondering where these jobs are? Wondering why you are signing ...
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British Workers for British Jobs - be careful what you wish for
The news that Britain is looking to curb the flow of non-EU surveyors and construction managers entering these shores will no doubt be welcomed unreservedly by many.Not me. I read that piece of news with some deep regrets.Why?Because it represents just one more door closing on the opportunity for people ...
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Red alert as new orders plunge to record low in January
January 2009: the worst monthly new orders figures ever recorded.And with little sign that February will be prove any better, the latest figures for new orders underline the collapse of construction across the board.Every sector - even public non-housing - was down on a year earlier with the exception of ...
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Window shoppers aplenty but buyers dwindle in the housing market
There has been a big surge in window shoppers, but no increase in sales. In fact they are a little worse. That is the nub of the latest housing market survey from the surveyors' body RICS.Much will be read into the surge in interest with suggestions that this represents the ...
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Are the leaders of the contracting industry fit for purpose?
My attention was drawn to a letter sent yesterday by the Construction Products Association's chairman Adrian Barden to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform regarding the current plight of the construction industry.It makes hard, clear, well researched and convincing points. It outlines the problems and makes ...
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Construction output falls off a cliff
The last time the construction industry had to puzzle out what to do with output falling as fast as it did in the final quarter of 2008 was when the Rubik's Cube was the must-have Christmas present.Official figures published today show a drop of 7% in construction output over the ...
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House price collapse continues says Halifax
The Halifax index of house prices returned to a downward path in February after surprising many when it showed house prices rising in January.The February figure suggests that on a seasonally adjusted basis 2.3% was wiped off the value of an average home - that equates to £3,800.On a non-seasonally ...
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Plunging building materials imports shows speed of downturn
The cash spent on imported building materials plunged in the final quarter of 2008 despite the huge drop in the value Sterling providing a clear indicator of the rapid decline in construction activity.In cash terms the value of imports in the fourth quarter of 2008 dropped 13% compared with the ...
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CIPS construction activity figures provide a reality check
The construction survey results from the buyers' body CIPS should provide a reality check on those who believe talking up the industry will help.For those looking at the situation closely the disastrous figures for February should come as little of a shock.The summary of the data provided reads: "Total business ...
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Don't be fooled by contractors' reports of healthy profits
I am becoming a bit discomforted by persistent misplaced chirpiness. I keep reading and hearing things that tell me "it's not all bad in the construction sector".Fair enough, the construction sector is never "all bad". Come hell or high water I can find plenty of good things even in its ...
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Is there any value in valuing housing?
I thought it might be worth responding to the comment from Gerry. I don't get many comments and he raises a good point.My first reaction is to say that I couldn't agree more that people should see homes as homes and not as investments. I also feel that if we ...
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£1 trillion wiped off the value of UK homes
Let's not get too worked up about the £40 billion loss by RBS - those foolish bankers that went into a bidding war to buy ABN Amro at peak.If the Nationwide figures are any reflection of the true value of houses in the UK then we have just witness about ...
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Is this Government ignorance which I see before me?
The latest report from the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee called Housing and the Credit Crunch is well worth a read for a run through of the current travails of the industry.It seems broadly to "welcome" what the CLG and the Government more widely has been doing ...
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More mortgage cash from Northern Rock, but will it make a difference?
So Northern Rock is to get back into mortgages. I hear the cheers.The aim will be to get the first time buyer market moving. I hear more cheers.It will start lending on loan to value rates of up to 80% or even 90% - definitely not 100%, because that should ...
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Private housing starts dive well below levels in 1980s and 1990s recessions
Housing starts in England plunged in the final quarter of last year to levels not seen in modern times.At the depth of the last house building recession during the worst three month period at the end of 1992 private firms started 19,227 homes. In the final quarter of 2008 just ...
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Inflation, deflation, Japan and paradoxes
So consumer price inflation isn't falling as fast as many commentators had expected. Is that a surprise? Well not really.Ok there are lags in the systems. But with oil price falls, the cut in VAT and deep discounting the big plot twists pre-Christmas, it was hard to see where the ...
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More buyers sniffing around for bargain buys in the housing market, says RICS
More green shoots appear to be sprouting in the housing market with the surveyors' body RICS finding an increase in interest among potential homebuyers over the past three months.Sensibly RICS economists are not getting over excited by this, after all interest from buyers was at basement levels and was almost ...
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Could buying up unsold private stock be stifling social house construction?
Is it just me, or is there a link between the deals being struck through the Government's National Clearing House to take unsold private homes into the social sector and the recent collapse in new construction orders for social house building?I ask because I have been doing some analysis and ...