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Welcome... E
very month, we peer out from the bunker into distant and not so distant horizons looking for that
elusive sign. Is the housing industry on the turn? There is no doubt that when the industry emerges from the recession it will be quite different to the one that grew out of previous slumps.
We agree with Adrian Barden, Chairman of the Construction Products Association, when he says that the construction industry is fundamental in helping the UK restore its economic health at a time when it is also facing its worst downturn in living memory. The health of both the economy and the construction industry are inextricably linked, so as we approach the general election, short term expedience must not be used as a substitute for long term vision. Barden believes that re- establishing the country’s economic prosperity is paramount and that failure to invest in the education facilities, transport infrastructure and homes will only serve to delay our recovery longer and will also undermine the skills and
ability of the construction industry for many years to come.
It is true that house developers are selling houses and un-mothballing sites in anticipation. Someone who late last year bought a spec house in a Camber Cul-de-sac on the Sussex coast tells us that the same model is now selling for 25% more. There are moves, foundations at least, to bring back Council houses. The Homes and Communities (HCA) has confirmed rescue packages to save projects that stalled because of the lack of bank finance. Rising interest from potential buyers, coupled with falling numbers of sellers, is stabilising house prices, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Version 2 of the Code for Sustainable Homes technical guide has just been published by the RIBA and is raring to tell us things.
But equally there are plenty of downsides. Local councils await the lifting of financial barriers preventing them from building social housing. Investment by banks has
dropped to virtually zero from annual levels of around £6 billion per year. All of this is contributing to a huge decline in house building with some estimates indicating more than a fifty per cent drop in the number of new homes being built this year compared to 2008. Confidence, if such confidence exists, is fragile.
In spite of all this travail, when push comes to shove, we stake our reputation on the belief that things actually are moving in the right direction. The sun certainly helps and it’s sad you can’t build with the stuff. We could be depressed that anytime now the evenings will start to get shorter. It’s not quite ‘roll on Christmas’ but it certainly is our continued support for and increasingly loud clarion call to ‘Get Britain Building’.
Welcome to Specification Magazine.
DAVID STILES PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
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