Uk Construction Industry Still Knackered

[zugzwang]

What happened to all those loft extensions and conservatories that were supposed to get built without planning permission?

http://www.telegraph...since-July.html

The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - which measures overall output in the sector - held at 48.7 last month, unmoved from December's six-month low.

The reading below 50, which indicates the sector is slowing, fell short of economists' forecasts of an improvement of 49.1.

Weak demand and lack of new projects were cited as the main reasons for lower output, while some firms also reported that unusually heavy snow depressed activity last month.

The data showed that January was the eighth consecutive monthly fall in new business intakes across the construction sector, which is the longest continuous period of decline since 2008/09.

Tim Moore, senior economist at survey compiler Markit, said: "January's survey results are yet another indicator of the severe underlying fragility across the UK construction sector.

"Snowfall at the start of the year may have disrupted output to some degree, but unfavourable weather outside is clearly far down the long list of difficulties afflicting construction companies at present."

There were some brighter signs for the industry, however, as business confidence about the outlook over the next 12 months continued to improve from the near four-year low seen last November, hitting the highest reading since last July.

However, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the PMI survey indicates that the sector's problems are far from over.

"Even allowing for a likely significant hit to activity from the snow the January purchasing managers' survey suggests that renewed construction contraction is more likely than not in the first quarter of 2013," he said.

"For now at least, the construction sector continues to face major headwinds, notably including limited public investment and spending, an extended weak economy, a still struggling housing sector, and problems in getting funding for large-scale projects."

Michael Conroy Harris, construction expert at global law firm Eversheds, said government backed projects were the key to regeneration of the UK construction sector.

"In reality, we will continue to see sustained contraction and the only thing that will slow this is likely to be a move towards significant Government backed projects," he said.

"That UK construction continues to contract comes as no surprise - the market has some way to go before it reaches a sustainable size.

"Furthermore, comparisons with the size of the sector at its peak in 2008 don't serve any real purpose as we're not going to see the market return to that size any time soon, if ever."

Construction accounts for just 6.8pc of UK national output but has been one the main drags on economic growth since the crisis, and remains about 15pc smaller as an industry that its 2008 peak.

[koala_bear]

What happened to all those loft extensions and conservatories that were supposed to get built without planning permission?

http://www.telegraph...since-July.html

Not that many who want to do it have the money or can afford to borrow it (i.e. new repayment mortgage not existing IO liar loan makes it a much bigger step if borrowing) or they have already paid too much for the property. So very little change in that segment.

The big change has been fewer new large/medium projects after the Olympic sites were completed and the Olympic construction holiday in London. (For example Network rail left a year gap (May 2012 - May 2013) between the 2 main phases of Thameslink project) which will dent the numbers as the spend would be about £20m+ a month. Major rail infrastructure project spend is about £2.75-3bn a year excluding HS2 till the end of the decade).

The school rebuilding rethink and PFI hospitals gone bad, has reduced health and education construction spend and that is unlikely to recover.

[Self Employed Youth]

It ought to pick up soon as the HA's begin to build. They have plenty of money to do so.

[bigkid]

All the construction professionals I know are gainfully employed. This was an industry that benefitted from good salary increases during the boom. There was a shortage of people so it was easy to jump from job to job every year with at least a £5k rise (ask any QS). Now they're suffering they've got plenty of staff on over inflated money.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

What happened to all those loft extensions and conservatories that were supposed to get built without planning permission?

It's skip city in my prosperous locale. No shortage of home improvements on my skip index.

That or the local skoda dealer is making a killing.

[The Masked Tulip]

There was an article in The Torygraph over the weekend about some extension tax being sneaked in - apparently if you have built large extensions to your home from April the Councils will be able to levy an extra tax on you.

So get people to build extensions... and then tax them...

[zugzwang]

There was an article in The Torygraph over the weekend about some extension tax being sneaked in - apparently if you have built large extensions to your home from April the Councils will be able to levy an extra tax on you.

So get people to build extensions... and then tax them...

That sounds about right. Build it as big as you like, no more rules and regs in Dave's get-ahead economy...

_{....except for the smallprint.}