Brickonomics

I read with interest the Sunday Times story about how quantity surveyors were joining the dole queue at a faster rate than any other group in the UK economy. So I looked at the base figures and, well, came to a remarkably different interpretation. Put it this way, if the Sunday Times’s interpretation was reasonable, I could with equal justification and would with some gusto be arguing in the pub that my mate who was finally supping down his second…

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For all the excitement created by the Halifax upward blip in house prices in January it now looks increasingly like a freak result, at least that is what the latest housing market survey from the surveyors’ body RICS would suggest. Yes I know it seems that for every green shoot spotted there is a hobnail boot to crush it. But that is the way it will be for some while yet. And there is a strong argument to suggest that…

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There is currently much excitement being generated about the probability of construction starting on some of the much-talked of copse of towers planned to slice through the skyline of London. If that prospect smacks of confidence it is in stark contrast to the general prospects for commercial construction in London and elsewhere in the UK, if we accept the latest findings from the surveyors’ body RICS. The future for bread and butter commercial work looks pitiful.

As I was giving the recent Rightmove consumer confidence poll a hard time last week, the Bad Science column in the Guardian kept coming to mind. So it was a bit spooky when I read the latest offering from Dr Ben Goldacre. If I was superstitious I would have read rather a lot more into it, but as it was I just had one of those I-wish-I’d-said-that moments when I read the phrase “PR-reviewed scientific evidence”. It seemed to say…

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The latest insolvency figures make bleak reading and confirm the stress on construction businesses in the wake of the credit crunch. If you add up all the construction companies falling into receivership, administration or company voluntary arrangements in England and Wales in the final quarter of last year you get 226. This compared with 96 during the same period a year earlier. And the same calculation for property companies, which are major clients of construction firms, presents even more distressing…

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Why is it that when I looked at the data presented in the press release covering the newly launched Rightmove consumer confidence survey I came to a very different interpretation from that given?

The latest industry state of trade survey covering construction product manufacturers and contractors gives a reasonable view of just how rosy things are. It is put together by the Construction Products Association. I will leave you to judge. Here are a few key findings: •    78% of construction product manufacturers report sales to fall in Q1 compared to Q4 2008 •    91% of construction product manufacturers report sales lower than in same quarter last year •    82% expect sales to…

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Those in the housing industry will be mightily relieved by the Halifax figures released today. Seasonally adjusted the rise in the price of an average house was put at 1.9%. Unadjusted the rise was a less spectacular 0.9% with about £1,300 added to the average house price. However shortlived this upward blip proves to be, it may just dispel the gloom for some and increase their willingness to buy homes. And it will no doubt provide food and drink for…

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Why is it understandable in the current British economy that councils are running out of grit? That was the thought that came to mind as I walking to work this morning. For me it was an enjoyable walk as the fresh snow creaked under my boots and I had the extra excitement added by the risk of falling on my arse, as I did two days ago. Ironically, I slipped as I reached for a nearby and seemingly handy hand…

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You have got to admire the spirit, we are on the verge of the deepest recession most in the industry have witnessed and yet there are those in the construction who feel the worst may be passed. That seems to be what the latest construction market survey by the buyers’ body CIPS is telling us. Yes, things are getting worse, but they are not getting worse as fast as they were. The main index rose from a shocking 29.3, to…

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