The housing market stalls

The housing market stalls

As the latest round of monthly housing market indicators spills new insight into the pot of understanding the figures seem to support earlier suggestions that both activity and prices are stalling. The pattern is varied regionally and confused by the General Election, pre-Budget anticipation over the increases in Capital Gains Tax for second home owners, the suspension of Home Improvement Packs and the ripples generated by the changes to stamp duty. But the overall trend does now seems to suggest…

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New KPIs show construction is getting more dangerous

New KPIs show construction is getting more dangerous

The construction industry is getting more dangerous as the recession bites. That seems to be one message from the latest industry Key Performance Indicators. The construction industry KPIs for 2010 were unveiled earlier this week and as a package they paint and interesting picture of how the industry is responding to the downturn in work. But it was the health and safety indicator that caught my eye. The results can be seen on the graph and it is worth noting…

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Construction will not come out unscathed from Osborne’s Budget, but it could’ve been worse

Construction will not come out unscathed from Osborne’s Budget, but it could’ve been worse

Given the potential for increased pain in the gift of George Osborne there will be a feeling that construction hasn’t come out as badly as it might have from the emergency Budget. But “unavoidably”, as Chancellor Osborne might say, the construction industry will have to share some of the pain for the folly of the banks as the nation seeks to balance its budget. There will however have been a great deal of relief when the Chancellor said that capital spending…

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New look construction output data show sharp pain in repair and maintenance sector

New look construction output data show sharp pain in repair and maintenance sector

New official figures for construction output published today show that the construction industry took a beating in the first quarter of this year. Overall in cash terms construction output was down 3.7% on the same quarter a year ago and 18% down on the first quarter in 2008. The initial launch of the new monthly-based construction output figures provides data only split by new work and repair and maintenance. But the picture they paint of the first quarter of 2010…

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Technical glitch delays publication of construction jobs figures, so in the meantime…

Technical glitch delays publication of construction jobs figures, so in the meantime…

I had hoped to bring you news and a view on the latest jobs figures for construction, but a technical glitch (no more detail available from the press officer I quizzed) meant we will have to wait a further month before the data on construction jobs to March are released. So as I had set aside some time to discuss the latest employment figures, what do we think of the broad numbers? I was a bit disappointed to see the…

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Some comfort for house builders as inflation fears ease

Some comfort for house builders as inflation fears ease

The latest set of inflation figures showing a fall in the headline rate of the CPI index will provide a good degree of comfort to the interest rate setters at the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. And in turn this should provide some relief to those house builders who harbour fears about a rise in interest rates. At 3.4% the headline rate remains well above the 2% target and as such remains unsettling for those who fear that this…

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Better than expected, but pre-Budget forecast will not spare construction’s pain

Better than expected, but pre-Budget forecast will not spare construction’s pain

There was a widespread view, stoked in part by the new incumbent at No 11 Downing Street, suggesting that the first output from the newly established Office for Budget Responsibility would most likely reveal the public sector debt to be far greater than we had been led to believe. Understandably this miffed the ex-Chancellor Alistair Darling who quite rightly was irritated at the suggestion he was a smoke and mirrors merchant. Well, now it would seem that if he had been…

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Why local authorities would be mad to grant planning permissions right now

Why local authorities would be mad to grant planning permissions right now

So a spate of local planning authorities decided to halt housing schemes following the move by the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to abolish regional spatial strategies.  No shock there then.  I’d argue, as I do later, that it would be totally rational for a planning authority to halt or delay planning even if there was widespread desire for the new development among a local council and all its constituents. What puzzles me is why this new government would wish to alienate…

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What to make of the conflicting messages from the latest house prices surveys

What to make of the conflicting messages from the latest house prices surveys

As last week closed the Halifax index showed the average price of a home (seasonally adjusted) falling for the second month in a row. This contrasts starkly with the Nationwide data which earlier last week was showing a continuation of a minor surge in prices. Meanwhile the Hometrack survey released last Monday suggests that house price inflation in flagging as activity in the market slows. It is hard to know exactly what to make of these conflicting accounts and to…

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Buyers’ index once again suggests growth in construction, but for how long?

Buyers’ index once again suggests growth in construction, but for how long?

The latest construction index from the buyers’ body CIPS shows growth in construction in May sped up slightly. The overall activity index rose from 58.2 to 58.5. That suggests a respectable amount of growth (see graph) given that anything above 50 is growth. However while the figures are positive now there appears to be little appetite to consume hopes that growth will continue. As the chief executive officer of CIPS, David Noble, says: “Civil engineering is a clear case in…

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