Is the building industry about to collapse, and how much impact will it have on tree work?

[monkeybusiness]

We are definitely slower on the big site clearance work than previous years, and builders are much more price conscious. 
One of the guys I use for big mulching jobs is very quiet, and he doesn’t normally stop between September and March. 
I’m glad I don't have anything on finance and subsequently need it working to make the payments - there are already guys going out with big kit for no money just to keep kit busy….

[NJA]

I talk to a lot of groundworkers who do the large estates for taylor wimpey, barrets, bovis etc.

Rather than dig footings etc fast as they can, they're now having to do a few, wait for the last chunk of housing to be built and sold before they do more.  So still plenty going on, just they're not selling before they've come out the ground so developers are a bit more cautious I think. 

And as you say they're probably not rushing to get all their sites started.

But as people get used to higher interest rates things will probably pick up. Its been easy for a long time.

[doobin]

Any fool can see that with interest rates where they are (and where they will stay IMHO), houses won't/can't sell at asking prices to current first time buyers. As a very rough guide, the same monthly payment and deposit will now buy you a 200k house rather than a 300k one over a 30 year mortgage. The difference is that stark. Run a mortgage calculator if you don't believe me- 1.8% vs 6%

 

And the developers will do anything other than lower prices. 'Mortgage contributions', kitchen upgrades, £20k cashback- anything other than lower the sticker prices. Meanwhile any idiot that falls for this is on the hook for a thirty year mortgage for a property that won't resell for 2/3rds of it's sticker price for a very long time.

 

Government needs to force housebuilders to 'use it or loose it' when it comes to planning permisison. Drip feeding the market is only good for the big builders, not the UK. Of course new build subbies will be short of work- the whole reason the big boys use 99% subbies is that they can drop them at a moments notice, like now.

[spudulike]

The larger housing companies will revert to acquiring land for building projects and then start building when the economy picks up again.

It will be hard for smaller building companies that expected the gravy chain to continue for ever and have projects in process that may not sell very quickly when completed.

Interest rates high - we had 14% when we purchased our first house!

[mtt.tr]

Good friend is an architect I was hearing worrying rumours few months back. 

 

Initially it was just office workers which are the majority of directly employed workers the rest being contractors. 

Now hearing of other architects work is drying up. 

 

Time will tell. 

[mtt.tr]

1 minute ago, spudulike said:

 

Interest rates high - we had 14% when we purchased our first house!

 

Higher interest rate yes, but on property that was proportionally less of a salary. 

 

Prices are so ridiculously high compared to salaries 

[spudulike]

9 minutes ago, mtt.tr said:

 

Higher interest rate yes, but on property that was proportionally less of a salary. 

 

Prices are so ridiculously high compared to salaries 

Correct and of course, I know that. 

[NJA]

1 hour ago, mtt.tr said:

Prices are so ridiculously high compared to salaries 

So hard as it is perhaps this is what is needed to lower prices 

[mtt.tr]

6 minutes ago, NJA said:

So hard as it is perhaps this is what is needed to lower prices 

 

i don't want to get to into the politics, but when wealthy buy land and property as assets firstly it wont happen but if it did the country is crashing and we all lose 

[openspaceman]

4 minutes ago, mtt.tr said:

 

i don't want to get to into the politics, but when wealthy buy land and property as assets firstly it wont happen but if it did the country is crashing and we all lose 

Yes especially as a lot of the wealthy money is from abroad and UK is seen as a good bet. There is no need for it to return them a dividend all the time the demand causes a capital increase.