Brickonomics

Construction shrinks at the fastest rate ever recorded

It was with genuine shock that I looked at the latest output figures. I was busy finishing something off when Noble Francis of the Construction Products Association called to ask if I'd seen the figures. I thought he was pulling...

Posted by Brian on June 5, 2009 10:53 AM

Look east to find some shelter from the storm

My good friend Martin Hewes has just past me some details of the latest Hewes & Associates forecast for new work construction output. It will not make for comfortable reading if you happen to be trading heavily in Yorkshire &...

Posted by Brian on May 12, 2009 10:23 AM

Economists mark 2009 for the biggest fall in house prices

If you bought a house in 2003 or afterwards there is a fair change that by 2013 it will be worth just the same or less than as you paid for it. That is the grimmest view taken by the...

Posted by Brian on February 2, 2009 8:48 AM

If 2008 was bad for the housing market, 2009 looks much worse

There are plenty of scary figures in the latest forecast from the Council of Mortgage Lenders not least the expectation that half a million homeowners will fall into arrears. The expectation that 75,000 homes will be repossessed by mortgage lenders...

Posted by Brian on December 18, 2008 5:52 PM

Threat of more job cuts as credit crunch contagion spreads to commercial work

The recession in construction is looking increasingly desperate as the giant commercial sector appears to be heading for a nasty fall. The latest round of data will be a massive body blow to those who sought comfort in the notion...

Posted by Brian on November 4, 2008 10:26 AM

Bright spots in the gloom says Experian's latest construction forecast

I've just received an email from James Hastings, head of construction futures at Experian Business Strategies with the latest forecast update attached. And, not a surprise, it was gloomier than the summer forecast, which then saw the industry overall stumbling...

Posted by Brian on October 16, 2008 12:40 PM

Prepare for massive jobs cuts, recession is upon us

Construction is heading for two years of recession says the Construction Products Association in its latest forecast. It puts output down 1.3% this year and 1.6% next year, before a sluggish recovery starts in 2010. The net result is that...

Posted by Brian on June 17, 2008 9:30 AM

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...

Posted by Brian on May 21, 2008 11:37 AM

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...

Posted by Brian on March 20, 2008 4:59 PM