This is the theme of the latest Building Trends research just published by Bidwells, one of the UK’s leading property consultancies, which was unveiled at a Breakfast Seminar in Cambridge attended by over 50 people from the business community.
Bidwells says: "As we approach an Election year, the UK economy looks to be increasingly robust and the IMF is predicting that the UK will now expand faster than any of the other G7 nations this year and next. This is mirrored by the rise in property confidence, with in-flows to property investment funds rising, access to finance improving and house builders enjoying ‘rude health’. There are also signs that this positive picture is now reaching smaller towns and rural markets as economic activity permeates throughout the UK.
"Building Trends highlights that concerns over interest rate rises earlier this year have largely been overstated, with predictions that any increases will be modest in the run-up to the May General Election. It also underlines that whilst the residential market is leading the recovery, the outlook for commercial is now very positive and there has been a significant increase in development initiatives in recent months, particularly in prime markets such as Cambridge, where speculative development plans have started to emerge.
"Against this positive backdrop, there are also challenges including residential planning. Latest figures show that although housing completions are up 52% on 2012 and residential construction starts are showing a 22% increase over the last 12 months, there is still a long way to go."
Mike Derbyshire, Head of Planning at Bidwells said: “We need to look at a number of strategies to solve our housing shortfall including ‘locally-led’ garden cities, the importance of the Private Rented Sector in provision of homes and the release of brownfield land for development. All of these need to work together to bring us nearer to the annual requirement of 250,000 new homes needed each year to meet demand”.
There are also challenges in terms of the construction industry meeting growing demand, with access to materials such as bricks, cement and breezeblocks proving difficult and a shortage of workforce skills to meet delivery demands. These will inevitably lead to a predicted upturn in contractor pricing as services are increasingly in demand.
Questions from the floor reflected the issues posed by healthy expansion, including the construction industry’s ‘growing pains’ to meet demand after significant contraction between 2008 and 2011; the transport challenges to cope with expansion; and how the infrastructure funding from Government to local authorities is being delivered.
Richard Pilsworth, Partner and Head of Bidwells’ Cambridge Office added: “This is a very positive picture and we are delighted to see confidence returning across all sectors and markets, not just in prime areas such as London and Cambridge, which remains one of the strongest markets in the UK. It is particularly rewarding to be witnessing an upturn in the commercial sector, evidenced by our own recording of a significant increase in development initiatives in recent months.”
In addition to the launch of Building Trends, the seminar also included a presentation by Jeanette Walker, Project Director for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus who provided an update on successes to date, including the location of AstraZeneca and plans for Phase 2. Also covered was the winning ‘ABC’ formula (a combination of Academics, Business and Clinicians) which was proving a huge driver in attracting companies to the Campus.
See the full report: http://www.bidwells.co.uk/eresearch/building-trends-autumn-2014/
November 2014
Image: Speakers at the launch of Building Trends, left to right: Mike Derbyshire, Bidwells Head of Planning; Jeanette Walker, Project Director, Cambridge Biomedical Campus; and Steve Mallen, Bidwells Researcher.
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