All articles by Brian Green – Page 39
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Bleak Bank figures confirm downward trend in homebuyers
More desparate news for house building as the evaporation of homebuyers in the UK housing market is further underlined with the release of the Bank of England figures showing mortgages approvals for house purchases in April diving to a new low.Just 58,000 loans were approved to homebuyers, half the figure ...
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Is the UK following the US into a housing market collapse?
The release today by Nationwide of figures showing house prices dropped by 2.5% in May will come like a kick in the teeth to house builders and estate agents.It is the last thing they want to hear given the fragility of the market. A drop of two grand or so ...
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Development slowdown hits small civils firms
The latest survey from the civils trade body CECA into the performance and prospects of its members very much reflects the pressures on the building sector, where housing and commercial building work is being squeezed by the effects of the credit crunch.While the outlook for civils is broadly positive, there ...
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US house price fall and fall
The latest stats from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show that US house prices are continuing to fall apace - down a further 2% in March 2008 across the top 20 metropolitan areas.This makes a continuous line of house price falls from August 2006 producing a total fall in house ...
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Just how exposed is the UK housing market
For those who like to take comfort from seeing the UK market in a global context I commend to you the latest round-up of international house-price indicators by the Economist.What is clear is just how far the UK house prices have boomed compared with most other countries. That the UK's ...
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Buyers "strike" continues as housing market suffers
The latest data confirms that potential homebuyers are still treating the current housing market with extreme caution resulting in fewer mortgages, fewer sales and lower prices.Hometrack data for May shows prices down nationally by 0.5% on the month after a 0.6% fall in April. But the more worrying trend for ...
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BCIS predicts bright future for civil engineering
After several years of decline in construction output in the civil engineering market the demand is set to grow in all infrastructure sectors over the coming years, according to the BCIS Civil Engineering Market Report.
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Official figures show construction solid as GDP slows in first quarter
The construction industry was one of the stronger elements of the UK economy in the first quarter of 2008, according to official figures that show the annual growth of GDP (gross domestic product) slowing to 2.5%.According to the ONS figures construction grew 0.5% in the first quarter and stood 2.9% ...
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A fall but no collapse in buy-to-let borrowers
The latest figures on buy-to let mortgages from the Council of Mortgages Lenders do provide some comfort for house builders tackling an increasingly tough market.There were fears that buy-to-let borrowing would collapse with the first whiff of a slowdown in house prices, but the figures suggest otherwise. The figures suggest ...
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Council of Mortgage Lenders forecasts house prices to fall by 7%
As a new consensus appears to be forming that house prices will fall between 5% and 10% this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has updated its forecast for house price growth with a prediction of a 7% fall.CML is also expecting to see repossessions grow from 27,100 in 2007 ...
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Pay growth slows in construction
The latest official figures on average weekly earnings suggests a slowdown in pay earned in construction.Average weekly earnings in the first quarter of 2008 were a shade down on the final quarter of last year and the monthly figures suggest a drop in the rate of growth in earnings, ...
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Latest property transaction figures confirm slump in house sales
The official figures for property transactions worth more than £40,000 (mainly houses) show a drop of 31% in the four months to April compared with the same period a year ago.The data shows just how hope of a spring bounce in the housing market have been dashed.
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How many foreign workers in UK construction?
The Office of National Statistics has released a paper based on Labour Force Survey data that estimates the number of foreign workers employed in the UK and makes a stab at how many work in various industry sectors, including construction.Leaving aside the assumptions and definitions the figures work out roughly ...
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Job cuts high on the agenda as house building slides
Taylor Wimpey's move to axe a third of its offices and about 600 jobs in the UK is the clearest sign yet of the pain in the house building sector.It may not be the first cut so far announced, but it is the deepest. And it follows weeks of discussion ...
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Soros gives bleak warning for UK economy
George Soros, the man who made a $1 billion profit in 1992 from anticipating Black Wednesday, says that the US recession is likely to be longer and more serious than currently expected and economic prospects are "in some ways" worse for the UK.Speaking to BBC's Robert Peston he said that ...
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Accountants see confidence drop in property and construction
When accountants start to get twitchy it is worth sitting up and taking notice. So, the latest business confidence survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) showing the impact of the credit crunch is spreading is worth taking seriously.Figures of note are that property has ...
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RICS revises down house price forecast
Transactions are to plunge by 40% this year and prices will fall about 5%, says the latest Housing Market Forecast from the surveyors body RICS.The latest forecast shifts RICS from it position of last September when it was predicting house prices would remain flat. But for the industry at large ...
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"Wrong tactics" by sellers stoke asking prices for homes
The rise in Rightmove's asking price index to a new record high is the result of out-of-touch discretionary sellers testing the spring market with unrealistic prices, according to the property website's commercial director Miles Shipside.Despite the almost overwhelming gloom in the market, Rightmove posted a rise of 1.2% in asking ...
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Falling pound adds fuel to inflation fire in construction
The latest inflation report from the Bank of England and the comments from the Governor Mervyn King have effectively put paid to hopes that interest rates are on the way down.Consumer Price Inflation leapt back to 3% in April and the Governor has prepared himself to write a series of ...
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Gherkins and the City
Have you noticed that there is a new measure in town - the Gherkin.Here are two recent examples.In the story about CEBR's estimate of 6,200 job losses in the City one gherkin equates to just over 3,000 City jobs.In the story about the estimate by Drivers Jonas that there will ...