Developers will benefit from cut-throat pricing and falling costs, predicts new research

Developers across the Gulf could benefit from cut-throat pricing as contractors chase increasingly few jobs in the region.

New research by EC Harris suggests that falling building-related prices will give developers a further boost when striking deals over construction costs.

Mark Prior, a partner at the consultant, said: “As demand on the construction industry across the globe falls, costs will start to decrease with contractors having to act aggressively in order to win work.”

He said that the lack of liquidity available to developers means growth levels will be restricted in the short to medium term.

Prior added that inflation in the region is forecast to be zero in the first quarter, with deflation during the remainder of 2009. He added: “We would anticipate the supply and demand of the market to be in balance at the start of 2010.”

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