Construction industry remains resilient amid pandemic disruption
Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, comments ONS figures [1] showing construction industry remains resilient amid pandemic disruption.
“These latest figures show the construction industry is one of the most resilient sectors of the UK economy.
“The uptick in private housing output over the last quarter has been partly driven by housebuilders responding to elevated levels of demand in the market. Strong buyer interest has been stimulated by the Stamp Duty holiday and a desire by some to upgrade their properties as a result of working and spending more time at home.
“However, strong headwinds are facing the housing market. The recent slide [2] in new build prices is being partly driven by concerns over whether these properties may be made of unsuitable cladding materials. Existing owners of new builds have struggled to sell them due to growing reticence among lenders to lend money to prospective buyers due to fears about these properties’ adherence to safety standards.
“Lack of confidence in the standard of these properties could have a ripple effect on the rest of the housing market. Owners of new builds may not be able to move into their next home if they cannot sell their existing home. Given that a large proportion of new build owners tend to move into houses, demand could contract for larger properties, possibly triggering a slide in house prices.
“This situation highlights the need for greater investment in the digitisation of crucial property information to help strengthen confidence in the housing market. Improving lenders access to more property information and encouraging greater data consumption among conveyancers and housebuilders will enable them to identify risks quicker and better advise clients. We have developed Data Snapshot to help meet this need and urge the industry to similarly change behaviours and embrace digital ways of working once and for all. This should give parties involved in the transaction process more confidence that information on properties is robust and truly reflects their adherence to industry standards.”
Sources:
[2] ONS: HPI, November 2020
Kindly shared by Search Acumen
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
