Buyers and sellers feel construction market shudder

Buyers and sellers feel construction market shudder

If the RICS construction survey is a good indication of what the future may look like, then the monthly Purchasing Managers Index produced by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) tends to give a fair indication of the mood of the moment. So when the March results released today showed the index turning sharply negative, it was a clear sign that the shakes felt in the financial markets last Autumn are vibrating in the construction industry right now….

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There may be trouble ahead

There may be trouble ahead

How worried should we be about the the findings by the surveyors body RICS in its latest construction market survey showing that the outlook for the industry is at its worst for a decade? The short answer is seriously concerned. But that is only a partial answer. It certainly does not address the fact that what seems like only yesterday there were plenty of experts predicting all manner of problems, with the industry by now in near meltdown swamped with…

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A bad time for house prices to go negative

A bad time for house prices to go negative

Nationwide released its latest house price figures today showing the a 1.1 per cent rise over the past 12 months. However, it also revised its forecast for 2008 down from no change to an overall fall. This will please neither estate agents nor house builders as they put Easter behind them and set themselves ready for the big seasonal sales push. But the blow to their sales teams may come next week with the release of the HBOS (Halifax) price…

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Deeper and down for US house prices

Deeper and down for US house prices

As we consider, or for that matter dismiss the possibility of a house price crash in the UK it is perhaps worth taking a look at the shape of things in the US. The most respected figures for house prices come from the S&P/Case Shiller index and this shows prices down 12.5 per cent from their peak in July 2006.

Construction boom forecast to slump

Construction boom forecast to slump

The latest forecast from Hewes & Associates is not one that will fill the faint hearted with comfort as they return to work from their Easter break. Hewes’s rather bleak take on the prospects for UK construction suggests that the industry is heading for a fairly prolonged recession taking output in 2010 back to the levels seen in 2003.

Government housing strategy holed below the water line

Government housing strategy holed below the water line

As if Gordon Brown hasn’t enough on his plate at the moment, this morning he received a letter from the Home Builders Federation telling him that his housing policy doesn’t stack up. The letter sent by HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley warns Mr Brown that he faces stark choices between the 240,000 a year housing target, aspirations for more affordable housing, private sector support for funding infrastructure, the zero-carbon target and a selection of other policy objectives such as lifetime…

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Housing policy facing the crunch

Housing policy facing the crunch

For those not convinced that the credit crunch has spilled over into the “real economy”, a quiet chat with an estate agent or house builder may be worth the effort. The news that  two more bidders have joined Barratt in walking away from English Partnerships’ flagship carbon challenge project at Peterborough because it is too expensive, looks ominous. This may well prove to be the first few drips in a torrent of rebuffs for the Governments’ grand housing plans as…

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Brian Green

Brian Green

As a journalist and commentator, Brian Green has tracked trends in construction, property and housing for more than 20 years. He was the project editor for last year’s launch of the Contract Journal Top 100 report and edits Housing Market Intelligence, now regarded as the ‘industry bible’. Brian is a strong believer in the power of numbers to describe the world, which creates some discomfort as he tracks the rise and fall in the fortunes of Norwich City, or should…

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