Brickonomics

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• House prices on the increase, but so too are the questions marks over the housing market

  The big news is that for the first time in two years more surveyors in Britain said prices rose than said they fell, according to the latest RICS housing market survey. The big question is whether this is the start of a continuous and sustained recovery... Posted Sep 15 2009, 12:54 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: house prices, RICS, housing market, unemployment, economy, Item Club

• Recession deeper than we thought says Bank of England

  The recession is proving to be deeper than the Bank of England expected when it previous produced an inflation report in May. That in part explains the extension of the quantitative easing programme that rather surprised many commentators. I have cut... Posted Aug 12 2009, 12:44 PM by Brickonomics Filed under: inflation, interest rates, quantitative easing, economy, Bank of England, economic crisis, GDP

• CIPS talk of optimism is baffling

  The CIPS appeared to be putting a rather positive spin on its July figures for construction activity on the back of a slowdown in the pace of decline and swelling optimism among its respondents. The press release reads: "Optimism about future activity... Posted Aug 04 2009, 11:43 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction output, house building, CIPS, construction orders, economy, optimism, pessimism

• Nationwide ponders the unthinkable: A house price rise for 2009

  The latest figures from Nationwide show a rise in prices for the third month on the trot, which puts the price of an average house at 1.3% more than at the start of the year. This sign of buoyancy is not isolated, we are seeing various indexes pointing... Posted Jul 30 2009, 11:52 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: house prices, RICS, unemployment, Nationwide, interest rates, economy

• Seven years of construction growth wiped out say GDP figures

  The latest GDP figures showed a marked slowdown in the rate of collapse of the economy. But the drop of 0.8% was significantly more than economists were expecting, if the mood judged by Reuters gives a fair assessment. The median of its poll of economist... Posted Jul 24 2009, 11:22 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction industry, construction output, economy, GDP, construction

• Latest GDP figures confirm plunging construction workload

  The update on the preliminary GDP figures for the UK's economic growth confirm construction activity was down in the first quarter by 8.6% compared with a year earlier. This puts industry workload on a level with that last seen in the summer of 2003... Posted May 22 2009, 11:30 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction output, recession, economy, GDP

• Construction collapse was faster than first thought, say ONS statisticians

  Construction output fell a further 2.4% in the first quarter of this year, according to estimates plugged into the official data used to calculate the UK gross domestic product . The figures for total output of the UK economy in the first quarter show... Posted Apr 24 2009, 11:47 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction output, statistics, statisticians, ONS, economy, GDP, Budget

• Chancellor provides optimism in the gloom...and that's what's worrying

  The direct measures aimed at construction-related activities and businesses in the 2009 Budget will be welcomed in some quarters, mainly among the house builders. Though I am not so sure I would go with the instant view from the surveyors' body RICS... Posted Apr 22 2009, 03:41 PM by Brickonomics Filed under: RICS, housing market, construction industry, risk, Alistair Darling, economy, forecasts, Item Club, construction, Budget

• Construction job vacancies evaporate as recession bites

  The latest batch of employment figures provides little comfort to the thousands of construction workers who are now looking for jobs, as vacancies in the industry have plunged deeper. The figures show that in the three months to March this year there... Posted Apr 22 2009, 11:04 AM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction industry, unemployment, recession, foreign workers, employment, redundancies, economy, job vacancies, econstruction firms

• Recovery soon for construction?

  The torrent of economic good news gushing from economists and think tanks is almost overwhelming. Hell's teeth it is a boost to confidence. But does this mean that the recovery is in sight for construction? Read More... Posted Apr 20 2009, 02:45 PM by Brickonomics Filed under: construction industry, Alistair Darling, economy, Bank of England, GDP, CEBR, Item Club, David Miles, Chancellor

• Homeowners turn their backs on using their homes as a bank

  I was intrigued by the response from the surveyors' body RICS to the latest Bank of England figures for Housing Equity Withdrawal . The figures show a continuation in the rapid repayment of housing debt, as the graph below shows, and this will have... Posted Apr 01 2009, 06:38 PM by Brickonomics Filed under: RICS, credit crunch, economy, Bank of England, Housing equity withdrawal, economic crisis, GDP