Greetings!
How are you finding the market? Feedback from Competitive Advantage's clients suggests that the situation is now stabilising, and this in turn is allowing companies' planning to become a little more medium to long term. I'm pleased to say that our level of enquiries have increased with companies committing to training and market research projects for the last half of 2009. If you have a requirement please contact us, we can suggest a number of approaches to help keep costs to a minimum.
Some sectors of the construction market may have also stabilised, as you will see below Education, Healthcare and Infrastructure represent the best opportunities in the short to medium term, and the HCA is doing all it can to stimulate housing.
So if you feel slightly more confident why not plan to attend some of the events scheduled for the autumn. There are details of a number on the subject of communication listed below. |
| Where the market is best |
The CPA's latest forecast shows construction output falling in 2009 by 16% with Education, Healthcare and Infrastructure representing the best opportunities.
Some good news is that take-up of Central London office space increased in the second quarter according to commercial real estate advisor CB Richard Ellis. |
| Highways Agency Procurement Strategy |
The Highways Agency have just published their latest procurement strategy, "Delivering Sustainable Value Through Supply Chain Management" this shows that sustainability remains a key issue for public sector organisations and consequently to their suppliers. To quote the strategy "Managing sustainability will become a key differentiator in the supply chain".
Competitive Advantage have a number of programmes and initiatives to help you develop and implement a sustainability strategy. Our team includes two experts on the subject, Jeremy Sumeray and Steve Miller. |
| Housing - up or down? |
Mixed messages are coming from the housing market. For July Halifax report a monthly fall in house prices of 0.5% while Nationwide reported a 0.9% increase. Bovis, Barratt and Persimmon have all reported signs of stabilisation in the market. Bovis say the rate of decline in house prices has eased and there has been an increase in mortgage approvals over the period.
Meanwhile the HCA continues to take initiatives to boost housing construction. It is to provide over £32 million for more than 460 homes in London to be constructed on two projects by Bellway Homes, Berkeley Homes and Southern Housing Group. It has also announced its £1.1 billion regional investment strategy for 2009-11 for Yorkshire and Humber.
In their latest forecast, The Construction Products Association say 72,000 new homes will be built this year, the lowest level since 1924 and 20% below 2008.
Look out for the next edition of the Housebuilder Watch to be published at the end of July. This survey of 100 private developers and 100 RSLs will report Starts in the last quarter, expectations for next quarter, mix of dwelling types and progress with the implementation of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
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| Effective Communication |
 Judging by the high level of interest in Competitive Advantage's report "Specifier Communication Channels" finding the best way to communicate with your customers is high on the agenda. Marketing communications agency SLG Marketing have just published a free guide "How to communicate with Architects and specifiers on-line" to obtain a copy email Mark Gill. Other communication events worth attending are:
Lessons in applying web 2.0 to marketing and PR evening seminar on 10th September at the Building Centre, London organised by CIMCIG
Future of Media evening seminar on 15th October at the Building Centre, London organised by CIMCIG
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