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Construction market activity
The ONS released its Output in the Construction Industry figures for March and Q1 2013 earlier this month, these figures show that the total volume of construction output was down 2.4% in Q1 2013 compared to Q4 2012, its lowest level since Q4 1988. This poor performance also held back GDP, with preliminary estimates for Q1 2013 up 0.3% for the economy as a whole. Although construction performed badly, partly due to poor weather, the housing sector is starting to show signs of recovery with starts up 7% in Q1 helped by the various government initiatives. However this recovery is taking place mainly in the South East. The CPA forecasts that this year onwards will see steady growth in housing (from a very low base).
The Nationwide House price Index has reported that there was very little change in average house prices during April with a 0.1% decrease, which brings house prices to just 0.9% above April 2012. The Halifax House Price Index shows that in April 2013 house prices increase by 1.1%, following a rise of just 0.4% in March, house prices in the 3 months to April were 2.0% higher than in the same 3 months a year earlier. With the housing market showing mild signs of recovery Crest Nicolson have announced a 9% increase in housing completions in the 6 months to April compared to the same period in 2012. However it is not all good news as Balfour Beatty have announced a 23% drop in construction revenue so far this year.
The Education Funding Agency announced that it is to raise £1.75 billion for privately financed schools work, through a PF2 funding model. However the EFA have also said that it will take 15 months for the funds to reach financial close, meanwhile £700m of capital funded development has been announced for work on 78 schools. |
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Regulations & initiatives - quick update
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Communicating with Construction Industry Decision Makers
 The construction market is complex, with many influences and drivers. As a result it is often hard to know where to start when selecting communication channels. Last week I presented at the CIMCIG seminar: Communicating with Construction Industry Decision Makers. I presented a summary of the Construction Media Index report findings. The report, now in its third year, is the only impartial research published for the construction industry on traditional and digital communication channels. In this blog I give an overview of the event, with a summary of the key messages.
Competitive Advantage will shortly commission research into what architects want in terms of technical support. Tell us what you want to know by completing our online form. |
Understanding the different players in the industry - Architects
Over the coming months we will be publishing a series of blogs looking at the different players in the industry. We hope that this will give you a clearer view of the complexities of the construction industry and how the different members of the project team work together. The first in the series will look at the role of the Architect. Read the full article. |
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What's being said - a round-up of useful marketing items
The Value of Blogging
The Construction Products Association Blog has just been launched, which is timely as the CIMCIG blog provides an article on the value of blogging. Live blogging/tweeting is another valuable tool, which Su Butcher put to use at the recent Digital Comms seminar, providing the content to a wider audience. We have also provided a blog review of the CIMCIG seminar Communicating with Construction Industry Decision Makers; at which we pre-viewed the 2013 Construction Media Index research, which reported that over 50% of respondents regularly read blogs.
Social Specification
There has been some publicity around the creation of Social Specification, an innovative way of using Twitter to promote building products that is being managed by Specifiedby. More information about how it works can be viewed online. There have also been a number of articles reviewing the benefits for building product manufacturers and the benefits of 'social specification'.
Creating Winning Bids - a book by Basil Sawczuk
 Although written with the design professional in mind there are concepts that anyone involved in the preparation of proposals would benefit from. Those such as the specification sales person, who sell to architects and engineers would also benefit from reading the book as they would get a better understanding of the bid process. The book is clearly set out and easy to read with a handy Summary Checklist at the end of each chapter. Read the full review
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Forthcoming events
For a full listing of forthcoming events visit our website. |
