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Construction market activity - December
The ONS has released its figures for new orders in the construction industry for Q3. Although these figures show that Q3 has increased by 5.4% against Q2 in 2012, they are still 6.7% lower than Q3 in 2011. To reinforce these depressing figures, the Markit/CIPS survey of construction activity reported that the construction industry contracted in the month of November, with a figure of 49.3 compared to October's figure of 50.9.
The Nationwide House Price Index reported that in November the price of a typical house remained unchanged against October, meaning that house prices are now just 1.2% lower than a year ago. Also the Halifax House Price Index has reported that house prices in the three months to November were 0.7% lower than the previous 3 months, making the average house price in November 2012 almost identical to November 2011. These slightly positive figures came as George Osborne announced that economy and property growth predictions released in the autumn statement are downgraded compared to 2011.
On a more positive note, an announcement to come out of the autumn statement was a planned capital investment of £5 billion to stimulate construction growth over the next 3 years. This follows Nick Clegg's pledge at the beginning of December that 50,000 new homes will be built in 2013, as the government attempts to unblock stalled projects.
Finally I have not included comment on the Chancellor's autumn statement as it has been well reported elsewhere. If you did miss it then it is available on the treasury website. |
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Regulations & initiatives - quick update
The Chancellor has finally announced the long awaited changes to PFI which will be known as PF2. Details are published on the treasury website.
The majority of both large contractors (78%) and SME contractors (57%) said that they believed BIM will bring benefits to their business, with just under two-thirds of large contractors and half of SME contractors seeing BIM becoming a core competency. These are some of the findings from a report just published by the National Federation of Builders. You can also purchase Competitive Advantage's report about the Adoption of BIM by Specifiers and Contractors. |
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Green Deal - promotion and take-up
One of the most encouraging announcements from the Government concerning the Green Deal is that they will make £2.9 million available to promote it to home owners. This should add credibility to the scheme by presenting a government backed message.
Also driving forward the energy efficiency agenda is the announcement that households in 38 communities, representing 1250 homes, have been awarded a share of £3 million to get renewable heating like solar thermal, heat pumps and biomass boilers installed.
The HCA has reported that the social housing sector remains financially strong, with access to the funding it requires, despite continued volatility. It is quite likely that this is where we will see the first initiatives to install energy efficiency measures in homes. Competitive Advantage's latest report Social Housing Energy Efficiency, found that a majority of RSLs are aware of the Green Deal and have plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties in the next 1 to 2 years, using both fabric and mechanical options. To learn more about the opportunities see details of the report on our website. |
What does 2013 hold? - 5 reports to help predict the future
With the end of the year approaching you are more than likely looking for a chance to catch your breath, evaluate your performance over 2012 and set your strategy for 2013. In this article I have taken the opportunity to collate a number of links I hope will help you achieve this.
read full article. |
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What's being said - a round-up of useful marketing items
There has been a wealth of information put out in the run up to the end of the year, to help I have grouped these into topic areas.
Construction Marketing Awards - Winners announced!
At the recent gala evening 28 awards were presented, with 17 winners and 9 highly commended. In addition a lifetime achievement award was presented to Michael Ankers OBE. Full details are on the website or download the Award Winners book.
If this wasn't inspiration enough then the CPA have also released their Innovation and Achievement brochure for 2012/2013
Sustainability
Ecobuild have announced their final #Ecobuild100 list of top Twitter influencers in sustainable construction, design and the built environment.
The NBS have released an infographic summarising their survey into sustainability and the attitudes and practices of construction professionals.
SEO
Jan Klin has completed his live optimisation of a website with the final results to be published at the end of January. Hubspot have a crash course in SEO and also a template to help organise your on-page SEO. And Pauley Creative delivered a SEO webinar.
Social
Pinterest have announced the introduction of business accounts and
Google+ have announced the ability to create and join communities.
FInally if you are looking for construction specific social sites then see the Pauley Creative blog. |
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Forthcoming events
Construction Industry Overview: online training
Competitive Advantage are pleased to provide this popular training as a modular online course. Each module costs £45, with the next modules being:
Construction Industry Overview: Government Influence
Online webinar - 10 January 2013, 12.30 - 13.30
Construction Industry Overview: Drivers for Change
Online webinar - 17 January 2013, 12.30 - 13.30 |
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Effective Specification Selling
14 March 2013 - A one day course being in London
Key to effective specification selling is an understanding of the market drivers and how these inter-relate. Products are not specified or selected solely on their performance as a building material, selection can be influenced by many factors; the Building Regulations, Planning Permission, Sustainability and ease of installation to name a few. These are examined in some detail so that the salesman understands the factors influencing the specifier. Find out more. |
