RICS UK Construction Market Survey, Q1 2009
HONG KONG, June 1 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Workloads in the first three months of the year continued to weaken across the board, but some key areas, including housing, saw an easing in the pace of the decline, says the RICS construction market survey, published on 27th May 2009.
Construction workloads remained in negative territory for the fourth consecutive quarter with 45 percent more surveyors reporting a fall rather than a rise in overall workloads in the first quarter, up from a net balance of -47. Both private and public housing saw a slight improvement in the number of surveyors reporting falling workloads.
"This slight easing we are seeing in both public and private housing is broadly in line with the figures coming from the Government on the number of housing starts, which saw a small rise in the first quarter of 2009, and could be aligned to recent signs of a gentle pick-up in activity in the housing market," commented RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.
Private commercial and industrial workloads recorded the worst figures. Many respondents cited a lack of available finance and the delay in public sector projects as the main cause of pessimism for the current market.
The outlook for the next twelve months remains downbeat. Expectations for future workloads improved slightly in the first quarter, with 38 percent more surveyors expecting a fall than a rise, up from 45 at the end of 2008.
Simon Rubinsohn continues, "Activity is still declining across the construction sector, but it appears to be doing so at a lesser rate than was previously the case and public sector projects will play a key role in any recovery as long as the finance is made available to prevent them from stalling. Despite some sub-sectors showing slightly more positive signs, construction output is likely to post a double digit drop over the course of 2009 with a further loss of employment and skills in the industry."
About RICS construction market survey
Published quarterly, the RICS Construction Market Survey provides a unique look at this GBP80bn industry in the UK. It features trends in house building activity, labour availability, expected profit margins and publicly-funded building infrastructure projects.
About RICS & RICS Asia
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is an independent professional body originally established in the UK by Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence and integrity - providing impartial, authoritative advice on key issues affecting businesses and society.
RICS is the worlds' leading qualification when it comes to professional standards in land, property and construction. With over 140,000 members globally, RICS represents, regulates and promotes the work of property professionals throughout 146 countries.
The RICS Asia supports a network of over 9,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice and international experience. It promotes RICS and its members as the natural advisors on all property matters. It also ensures that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.
The RICS Asia region covers national associations and local groups locating in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People's Republic of China and the SAR Hong Kong. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam.
Media enquiry, please contact:
RICS Asia Pacific Public Relations Representative
Ms Katherine Chow / Ms Kate Kwan
Tel: +852-2372-0090
Fax: +852-2372-0490
Mob: +852-9256-3223 / +852-9077 1337
Email: kat@creativegp.com / kate@creativegp.com
