Napier & Blakeley’s Post

A recent article published by MacroBusiness highlights a concerning trend: Australia is experiencing another boom in defective apartments. This boom is claimed to be caused by the unprecedented increase in high-rise apartment complexes, resulting in a spike in construction defects and quality issues, including cracked foundations, water leaks, balcony defects, and flammable cladding. The Castle Hill project by Toplace Group, alongside infamous examples like Sydney’s Opal and Mascot Towers, underscore the persistent challenges of ensuring construction quality and safety in our industry. These incidents, marked by structural failures and costly remediations, shed light on what has been described as a "systemic failure" in the construction sector. Bronwyn Weir, a construction lawyer for Weir Legal and Consulting, has warned that the push to meet housing demands, including the Albanese government's ambitious goal of building 1.2 million dwellings over five years risks further degrading construction standards. This situation is not just about immediate financial costs but instead the long-term integrity and safety of our urban landscapes. “According to a recent NSW government strata survey, more than half of newly registered buildings since 2016 have had at least one serious defect, costing an average $331,829 per building to fix” As an Australian Building Surveyor, I see these statistics as a call to action. It is crucial that we learn from past mistakes and apply rigorous standards and inspections to prevent future failures. Our commitment to quality and safety is non-negotiable, especially as we face the challenge of building more homes without compromising on the standards that protect our communities. Ensuring the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of construction projects is not just part of the job—it is our responsibility to the public and the future of our cities.  Read more about the ongoing concerns and the call for higher standards in the construction industry: https://lnkd.in/g6DVeUid  

For those who missed it, an overall positive outlook for construction activity as upward trends continued in May. Some points to note include; The resurgence of commercial activity that has been driven by office construction in Dublin where more space was delivered in Q1 than in the entire of 2023. Input costs continued to increase amid higher material prices but the pace of inflation eased to a four-month low. The most promising outlook of all, indicating that 90% of building firms now expect to be as busy or busier in one year's time. A positive reflection at the halfway mark of the year, and a good article as always from RTE. https://lnkd.in/eKKbxPNZ

Explore "The Decline in Nonresidential Construction" on US Business News. This article examines the recent downturn in nonresidential construction, analyzing the factors contributing to the decline and its implications for the industry. Stay informed about the trends and challenges affecting commercial building projects. 🏢📉 #NonresidentialConstruction #ConstructionIndustry #USBusinessNews #MarketTrends #IndustryChallenges #CommercialBuilding #ConstructionDecline #EconomicImpact #BuildingProjects #ConstructionTrends https://lnkd.in/dky8V8Wg

🚧 Construction Starts Outperform Last Year! 📈 Great news from Glenigan's August 2024 Construction Review! The industry is showing signs of a strong rebound with an 8% increase in work starting on site compared to the same period last year. This uptick reflects growing confidence and recovery within the sector, highlighting promising times ahead for construction professionals. The boost primarily stems from a 42% surge in major project-starts, indicating a renewed focus on large-scale developments. Residential construction is also doing well, driven by a 25% jump in private housing starts. Although there's still room for growth compared to pre-pandemic levels, the trend is encouraging. From Yorkshire and the Humber to Scotland, regional performance has been generally impressive too! While some areas still lag behind their performance from a year ago, double-digit growth is evident in regions like Wales (10%) and Northern Ireland (39%). These gains suggest strong momentum as we move towards the latter part of the year. What's been your experience so far this year? Are you noticing the same positive trends in your region? Drop a comment below; I'd love to hear your thoughts! #Construction #IndustryRecovery #ResidentialConstruction

🚧 Construction Starts Outperform Last Year! 📈 Great news from Glenigan's August 2024 Construction Review! The industry is showing signs of a strong rebound with an 8% increase in work starting on site compared to the same period last year. This uptick reflects growing confidence and recovery within the sector, highlighting promising times ahead for construction professionals. The boost primarily stems from a 42% surge in major project-starts, indicating a renewed focus on large-scale developments. Residential construction is also doing well, driven by a 25% jump in private housing starts. Although there's still room for growth compared to pre-pandemic levels, the trend is encouraging. From Yorkshire and the Humber to Scotland, regional performance has been generally impressive too! While some areas still lag behind their performance from a year ago, double-digit growth is evident in regions like Wales (10%) and Northern Ireland (39%). These gains suggest strong momentum as we move towards the latter part of the year. What's been your experience so far this year? Are you noticing the same positive trends in your region? Drop a comment below; I'd love to hear your thoughts! #Construction #IndustryRecovery #ResidentialConstruction

🚧 Construction Starts Outperform Last Year! 📈 Great news from Glenigan's August 2024 Construction Review! The industry is showing signs of a strong rebound with an 8% increase in work starting on site compared to the same period last year. This uptick reflects growing confidence and recovery within the sector, highlighting promising times ahead for construction professionals. The boost primarily stems from a 42% surge in major project-starts, indicating a renewed focus on large-scale developments. Residential construction is also doing well, driven by a 25% jump in private housing starts. Although there's still room for growth compared to pre-pandemic levels, the trend is encouraging. From Yorkshire and the Humber to Scotland, regional performance has been generally impressive too! While some areas still lag behind their performance from a year ago, double-digit growth is evident in regions like Wales (10%) and Northern Ireland (39%). These gains suggest strong momentum as we move towards the latter part of the year. What's been your experience so far this year? Are you noticing the same positive trends in your region? Drop a comment below; I'd love to hear your thoughts! #Construction #IndustryRecovery #ResidentialConstruction

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘁𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 Analysis conducted by Barbour ABI and the Construction Products Association (CPA) has revealed that construction spending is seeing a geographic shift as the industry recovers following the post-pandemic period and the infamous Liz Truss mini-budget. Comparing ONS figures from 2022 with contract awards data from 2023, researchers discovered spending shifting away from traditional #construction powerhouses in London and the Southeast, with new hotspots in construction activity appearing all over Great Britain. Barbour ABI’s head of business and client analytics, Ed Griffiths said, “There are clear hotspots for upcoming construction activity over the next 6-24 months, with hotspots outnumbering coldspots, where activity has gone down, by almost three-to-one overall and six-to-one for #infrastructure. “Encouragingly, regions with hotspots were spread across Great Britain and hotspots outnumbered coldspots in all regions of Great Britain.” London and the Southeast, which have seen the highest spending on construction in the UK, saw contract awards reduce by 18.5% and 17.6% respectively – wiping out gains made in 2022. Westminster, traditionally responsible for one of London’s biggest spending shares, took a 20% hit along with Berkshire (39%) and West Surrey (32%) in the Southeast. Meanwhile, Manchester was in the top 10 largest regions in terms of the value of contracts awarded in 2023. However, this was 18% lower than a year earlier. New winners across the UK Analysts found contract awards growth of 7.9% in the ...... 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦: https://lnkd.in/eqME2YY4

Homebuilding activity weak as construction cost increases remain Australia’s residential construction industry is facing pricing and productivity challenges, which is limiting the amount of new housing that is being built. The Cordell Construction Cost Index, which tracks the change in the cost of labour and materials to construct a low set, detached house, rose 1.0% in the September quarter. This was up from 0.5% in the June quarter, but well below the peak of 4.7% in the September 2022 quarter (see graph). Nevertheless, challenges remain for new housing supply, according to CoreLogic's head of residential research, Eliza Owen. “The stickiness in construction costs without an offset in increased productivity is likely to lead to less project feasibility and low approvals. The particularly low levels of apartment development will also mean a higher ratio of demolitions to dwellings completed, and lower net completions than in the 2010s,” she said. “There are some signs of capacity easing at the early stages of construction, such as in commencement times for detached houses, but more must be done to increase the capacity and productivity of the sector.” #property #realestate #homeloans