Uk
Construction up across the UK, led by homes and office developments
Construction workloads rose across all sectors and in each part of the UK in the second quarter of 2015 according to the latest market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Some 44% more surveyors reported higher activity levels, up from 37% on the previous quarter, driven by office development and private house building. The pace of growth in Northern Ireland was slowest and at a headline level, 74% more respondents expect to see their workloads rise and respondents forecast growth of 3.8%. Over half, 51% net balance, of respondents reported higher workloads in private housing and 58% in the private commercial sector, following a 22% rise in new orders in the first quarter of the year. Activity in London and the South East appears stronger than elsewhere in the UK, so profit margins and employment expectations are higher in these parts of the UK than anywhere else with 62% more respondents expecting to take on more people over the next 12 months and 58% expecting higher profits. Financial constraints and issues with planning and regulation remain the key restraints on growth in the sector with 58% more surveyors reporting difficulties in the second quarter. In addition, 40% of respondents reported shortages of materials, but this is an improvement on the 60% who were having such difficulties through most of 2014. ‘The upturn in workloads has led to a less competitive tendering environment, particularly across public sector projects, but a lack of accessible finance is now affecting a net balance of 58% of our members and while concern over labour shortages dipped slightly, the demand for cost and project management skills rose,’ said RICS director of the built environment, Alan Muse. ‘Also typical as workloads recover is the emergence of other impediments to growth, outside of labour and finance constraints, such as planning and regulatory barriers, which could be exacerbated if cuts are made to local authority planning departments as backlogs in planning applications will have a knock-on effect to work pipelines,’ he added. Meanwhile, the latest state of the trade survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says that in the second quarter of the year it is skills shortages that are undermining activity in the small to medium construction sector despite the fact that the building industry has been booming for more than two years. ‘There can be no doubt that the building industry is booming but the skills shortage continues to loom large over our industry. Almost half of construction SMEs are struggling to recruit adequate numbers of bricklayers, with others finding it increasingly hard to hire carpenters and joiners, site managers and supervisors,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. ‘Looking ahead, our members are reporting that their workloads are likely to rise over the coming three months which means the shortage of skilled workers will only become more acute. It also begs the question, how much stronger would the pace of growth in… Continue reading
British farm land prices more tightly pegged to local conditions
The British farmland market is becoming more finely balanced leading to a greater range in values achieved with sale prices more tightly pegged to local supply and the number of potential buyers. Overall values increased by 0.2% during the first six months of the year, a reduced rate, according to Savills most recent review of the GB farmland market. But this conceals some localised falls in prime arable values, where there is now evidence of more price sensitive demand coupled with reduced competition between farmer and non farmer/investor buyers. Indeed, average grade 3 grassland values, which in recent years lagged way behind arable values continue to strengthen with an average uplift of 1% during the half year. Meanwhile, 5% more land was publicly marketed in compared with the first half of 2014. Almost half of the acres advertised were arable compared with around 30% in the previous four years. ‘There is evidence of some farmers, especially those without successors taking the opportunity of current record values to exit the industry,’ said Alex Lawson director of Savills farms and estates. The report also shows that non-farmer buyers overtook farmers as the principal buyers of land and the proportion of farmers buyers is now at its lowest since 2003. However, of those continuing to buy land the proportion doing so in order to expand their existing businesses is rising and now accounts for the reason behind half of all purchases. ‘There are many entrepreneurs still growing their businesses, despite current commodity prices, reflecting the longer term view they take. It also reflects the fact that many farming businesses now produce significant non-farming income which helps spread business risk,’ said Ian Bailey of Savills rural research. A breakdown of the figures shows that 85,000 acres were publicly marketed in the first half of 2015 which is 5% more than in the same period in 2014 but 1% less than the average of the same period of the previous five years. In England 13% more land was publicly marketed in the first half of 2015 at 65,500 acres compared with 57,100 acres in the same period of 2014, which is 7% more than the five year average of 60,100 acres. Supply in Scotland fell by 7% to around 18,500 acres which was very similar to 2013. Here sellers and buyers continue to be affected by uncertainty surrounding land reform, the general election result and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. Welsh land supply has dwindled most dramatically, with only 1,900 acres for sale so far in 2015. This is less than half the area marketed in 2014 and of the average area over the past five years. ‘Almost half of the acres advertised were arable compared with around 30% in the previous four years. This shift and the regional increases in supply are, to some degree, reflected in the pressures on the arable and regional value growth noted… Continue reading
UK dream home is detached with three bedrooms and two bathrooms
A three bed, two bathroom detached period property is the dream home for people living across the UK, according to new research. Most are looking for a detached home with this type of property topping a new survey by Leeds Building Society which found that 48.5% want this kind of place to live. Some 52.4% would like a home with three bedrooms and indeed 74.3% said this was a minimum requirement while 76.2% said that one bathroom is not enough and 56.2% saying that two bathrooms is a priority. When it comes to choosing a property the top feature was location, mentioned by 72.9%, followed by 68.5% saying that size mattered and 61.7% giving priority to a garden and outside space. Property layout was important for 56.2% and off street parking for 53.1%. The top feature that buyers were most prepared to compromise on was good interior decoration with 28.7% prepared to overlook this, followed by 23.6% on period features. Some 21.5% could compromise on a new kitchen, new bathroom and a fireplace while 21.2% were unconcerned about the property layout. No garden was the biggest turn off, cited by 35.3%, followed by no drive at 14%, an old heating system at 10.9%, a need for modernisation at 10% and stairs in the living room at 9.4%. ‘When home ownership appears to be a national obsession and there’s a mind boggling choice in types of properties to purchase, it’s perhaps surprising that our survey discovered so many people share the same view of what makes their dream home,’ said Martin Richardson, Leeds Building Society’s general manager for business development. According to Richard Sexton, director of business development for e.surv, it should not be a surprise that the key selling points of a property are those that can’t fundamentally be changed. ‘After all it’s relatively easy to redecorate, but impossible to move a building from one location to another. The findings reflect the fact that house hunters are generally aware of the difference between these categories and take a long term view on changeable factors to ensure they get their preference on the fundamentals,’ he added. Continue reading
