All articles by Brian Green – Page 31
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Comment
Plunging sales rates in 2008 and the threat to new housing development
The latest figures show that home sales in 2008 were down 43% compared with 2007, but scarier than that is the drop in level of property transaction over the second half of last year.This poses a real threat to even "technically" viable housing schemes.Sales are running well below half of ...
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Will construction win or lose from collapsing hope in the UK economy?
We are heading into the worst peacetime economic slump since the 1930s, according to the latest forecast by the highly regarded ITEM Club.This marks a massive collapse in hope for the UK economy. Just three months ago the ITEM Club's autumn 2008 forecast carried the sub headline "...the recession in ...
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Most local builders are now shedding jobs as workload collapses
The latest survey of local builders by their trade body FMB paints a grim picture with workload, inquiries and employment plunging.This throws into question how focused the Government is on saving jobs in the construction industry.If saving jobs is top of the agenda it should think a lot more about ...
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Did monthly new orders really hit an all time record low in November 2008?
I have been seeing a lot of "worst ever" and "worst since at least" stories about the November new orders figures.I am conscious that so many statistics are being thrown around at the moment that it is confusing. And there is enough distress out there as it is.So I thought ...
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Worst six months for construction new orders since September 1995
The latest figures for new orders appear to have taken a turn for the even worse in November after already having fallen off a cliff in May last year.The 12 month rolling total of orders won in volume terms dropped rapidly in November to its lowest level for more than ...
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Experian cuts forecast for construction growth but predicts a boom in infrastructure
With the release of the heavily downgraded forecast from the Construction Products Association released this morning I was keen to see how the forecasters at Experian saw future workload in the industry this time around.The answer is that they are much more pessimistic about prospects this year than they were ...
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Forecast puts construction recession on par with 1990s - so expect 600,000 job losses
The rapid deterioration in confidence in the construction industry is amply illustrated by the latest prognostication of the Construction Products Association forecasters.The industry trade body has massively downgraded its expectations for construction output over the next six years, despite pepping up the figures for projected spending by the public sector. ...
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Homes in the US sold for $1,000, will we see like here?
An article on CNN money caught my eye. It seems that homes in areas of the US hardest hit by foreclosures (repossession) are being dumped at throw away prices.At these prices you could practically buy up a neighbourhood for what it used to cost to buy a half decent home ...
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Hard cash or car crash - what's driving visitors to Rightmove?
A press release from the property website Rightmove that dropped into my inbox this morning caught my eye. Of course it was promoting its wares - that's fair enough.But what I found interesting was the interpretation Rightmove has put on the fact that record numbers of people logged on to ...
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House price falls in 2008 more than double those of the 1990s
2008 will go into the record books as the year house prices fell at their fastest rate, with prices dropping over the year at more that double the pace of the previous record fall in 1992.The Nationwide data out today puts the annual rate of collapse in prices for 2008 ...
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Construction industry ends 2008 on a record low
Happy New Year, or is it? The first piece of hard data on performance of the construction industry we get and it is a "new" record low for the Purchasing Managers' Index compiled for the buyers' body CIPS.The overall PMI measure for construction in December came in at 29.3 against ...
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Comment
If 2008 was bad for the housing market, 2009 looks much worse
There are plenty of scary figures in the latest forecast from the Council of Mortgage Lenders not least the expectation that half a million homeowners will fall into arrears.The expectation that 75,000 homes will be repossessed by mortgage lenders is pretty scary too, especially as this in practice would mean ...
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Construction workforce grows by 30,000 - it's official, but surely it's wrong
The official labour market figures suggest that the construction workforce is growing. Surely this can't be the case?When I eagerly opened the latest press release on Labour Market Statistics this morning, I was looking for some clues as to how much damage has been done to the construction workforce.The official ...
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The beast of inflation may be in retreat, but it can still bite
As if the confusion over the credit crunch's causes and effects is not enough, we now have the related confusion over inflation. What is a good level for inflation to fall to if deflation is a fear?We have just experienced a steep decline in inflation with the CPI measure dropping ...
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Is the UK plunging into the worst recession in 60 years?
I am frequently accused of being too gloomy, which is upsetting to a sensitive person who likes to see the sunny side of things.My riposte is that while I might have appeared a bit glum when commenting on the numbers over recent months, in the gloom stakes reality overtook me ...
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No Christmas present for estate agents or the economy in RICS figures
Two bits of good news for house sellers and builders in the latest housing market survey by the surveyors' body RICS.The graph showing the proportion of surveyors reporting prices falls appears to have bottomed out. And the graph showing interest from buyers has turned positive for the first time in ...
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RICS pitch black news on commercial property - prices to fall more than in 1990s
If you like your news black like your coffee, then the latest survey of the commercial property forecast from the surveyors' body RICS will have you putting the kettle on if not reaching for the drinks cabinet.Expect property prices to collapse more than in the recessions of the 1970s and ...
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Half price houses by 2011, says the futures market
The futures market has marked house prices down further following the release of the latest Halifax figures and now predicts a fall of 46% in cash terms from peak to a trough in 2011.According to the Tradition Future HPI the price of an average house will plunge to £109,108 by ...
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Plunging car sales point to a major collapse in work for small builders
Car sales have fallen off a cliff. The latest figures from the motor trade body smmt show that in November sales were more than a third down on the same month a year ago.This news reminded me of a spookily strong relationship between new car sales and the official data ...
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Spot the difference
I was quick out of the blocks this morning keen and eager to get my hands on the latest construction output figures. Sad really, but it keeps me happy. Until this morning that is.Hot on 9:30 I downloaded the press release. Here is the release. oec1208a.pdfIt showed construction down 1%. ...