A post-lockdown boom in home improvement schemes has been led by planning applications for landscaping and home office projects, says brickonomics #ribajintelligence ribaj.com/intelligence/w…

Were taxes low under Thatcher? I lived through the period. I heard "low tax" used alot, but I recall income tax falls and VAT rises. I thought I'd check. data.oecd.org/tax/tax-revenu… It's a bit of a topic currently, so maybe a few journos might wish to check the data also.

The Bank of England now expects housing investment (new build as well as repair, maintenance & improvement) to fall by 5.75% in 2023 & a further 2.5% in 2024 in its Monetary Policy Report today. #ukhousing #housing #ukconstruction #construction

Featuring Ian Mulheirn and @resi_analyst 👇

A long thread on the initial direct & indirect impacts of the chaos in the markets over the past week on UK house building & construction ... #ukconstruction #construction #ukhousing #housing

NEW: While rates of poor health in the population are increasing, our research shows this is not the key driver of increase rates of older people leaving work for economic inactivity. Read Jonathan Cribb and Bee Boileau's briefing> ifs.org.uk/articles/worse…

Gotta piece into today's FT. ft.com/content/7b0440…

308 construction firms became insolvent in the UK in September 2022, which is 8.9% lower than in August but 6.9% higher than a year ago according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). (1/n) #ukconstruction #construction

The rise in home-working has raised fears that office buildings will become “stranded assets”, becoming a liability for the investor. But architects’ skills at adaptive reuse could save the day, writes brickonomics #ribajintelligence ribaj.com/intelligence/m…

As other professionals take industrial action, brickonomics examines how architects’ pay compares with that of other white-collar workers #ribajintelligence ow.ly/P8Xh50NA4Rr

The problematic rise of the ‘ultra-marathon’ mortgage on.ft.com/40Z4HgR | opinion

Quarter of a million people are needed in construction by 2027 but public perceptions mean too many overlook it as a career. Our Real Face of Construction report reveals that economic growth is under threat unless worker shortages are addressed. orlo.uk/2o8kA #ciob

UK construction materials prices in March 2023 were 8.7% higher than a year ago according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is lower than the 10.6% materials price inflation in February &... (1/n) #ukconstruction #construction #materials #inflation

What boroughs have the most architects, and how does this compare with other professions? brickonomics examines the latest census data to find out what it tells us about the architecture profession #ribajintelligence ow.ly/RZVa50ONeBv

Private housing repair, maintenance & improvement (rm&i) is now the 2nd largest construction sector according to the ONS (although the ONS data appear to have deflator issues, so the ONS appears to be overestimating volume of activity in the sector). #ukconstruction #construction

The pain from the coming mortgage crunch is bigger than that of the late 80s - but the pain is more concentrated onto 30% of families (because older people are more likely to own outright and younger people less likely to own at all) resolutionfoundation.org/comment/crapgp…

Interesting piece on the slowing home improvement market, partially offset by strong energy efficiency (insulation & solar/PV) measures & working from home, plus the issues with the official rm&i data. brickonomics in RIBAJ. #ukconstruction #ukhousing ribaj.com/intelligence/m…

A fragile UK economy has traditionally spelt particularly bad news for the construction industry but, wonders brickonomics, could the need for a complete overhaul of the built environment offer hope for architects ow.ly/qcXf50Q6Rv1 #ribajintelligence