Construction contract rewards remained stable in March following a quarter which had showed a significant increase since the beginning of the year. The value of new contracts was 3% down in February and 1% down on the previous year but remained significantly above the last quarter of 2023, according to analysis from Barbour ABI. Notably, residential contracts were up 60% in February, returning to heights seen in January and were up 62% over the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, infrastructure fell back to more normal levels following a stellar February but remained 38% up on the same month last year. A new student accommodation facility on Medlock Steet, Manchester will cost £200 million, whilst a new National Grid convertor station at Eastern Green will be built at a cost of £700 million. A new prison at HMP Gartree was also awarded at a cost of £300million. Wates will carry out the work which will commence July 2024. Barbour ABI head of business and client analytics, Ed Griffiths commented:  “When looking across the first quarter of 2024 it has become clear that both the infrastructure and residential sectors have had strong starts to the year as businesses attempt to get projects off the ground, which is a positive signal the construction sector is attempting to emerge from the doldrums of last year. “Interestingly in March, we saw Residential and Infrastructure swapping positions in terms of leading overall contract awards value with £2.4bn and £2bn respectively. Together they are pushing the industry awards upwards.” Elsewhere Healthcare projects were subdued in March following two strong months and Economic conditions continue to stagnate the Hotel and Leisure Sector Applications continue to confound recovery. Planning applications have improved in February after a weak start to the year in January but activity levels in most sectors remain low, highlighting that nervousness remains in the sector to commit to future projects ahead of potential rates cuts and upcoming elections.  Infrastructure has increased 33% since last month and remains strong against its long-term average. However, it has not returned to the highs of the end of last year. Residential applications fell once again from £3.1bn in January to £2.9bn in February. Griffithscontinued: “The enduring story of 2024 so far has been the contradiction between a rise in contracts awarded, sometimes even for projects which have not yet been fully approved, and the continued lack of confidence shown in both in new applications and approvals – which have been contracting since last November. The industry stands at a crossroads where financial and political decisions made at a national level could tip the balance in either direction.” Find out more at https://barbour-abi.com/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

The latest industry research by property development appraisal software , APRAO, has revealed that all but one of the big housebuilders has seen a reduction in the volume of land banking plots held on an annual basis.  APRAO analysed the latest annual reports of the seven major UK property developers, looking at total land banking plots held* and how this total compares to the previous year.  The figures show that some 501,691 land bank plots are currently held by the big housebuilders, a reduction of -5.4% on the 530,378 held the previous year.  Barratt Developments has seen the largest decline in the number of plots held within its land bank, down -13% year on year.  Berkeley Group has also seen one of the largest land bank reductions, with total plots falling by -12.3% year on year.  Persimmon has seen the third largest reduction at -5.7%, although with a total of 82,235 plots still held, it does rank as the housebuilder with the second strongest book in this respect.  Redrow (-4.5%), Taylor Wimpey (-3%) and Vistry Group (-1.7%) have also seen a year on year decline in total land bank plots held. In fact, just one housebuilder has seen an increase, albeit a marginal one. Bellway’s land bank currently sits at 98,164 plots, the largest of all the major housebuilders, having seen this total increase by 0.5% year on year.  CEO of APRAO, Daniel Norman, commented: “While 2023 proved to be a particularly tricky one for the UK property market, the overarching expectation was that 2024 would bring a greater degree of market stability and that’s certainly what we’ve seen in recent months. Mortgage approvals are climbing as buyers return to the mix and house prices have also started to improve, driven almost entirely by a buoyant new-build market. It’s clear that the nation’s big housebuilders have acted in anticipation of these improving market conditions, utilising their existing land banks with the aim of delivering additional stock to market in order to help fuel this improving market sentiment.  Of course, with other factors such as higher interest rates still presenting an obstacle, there has been less urgency to refresh land bank stock levels. But with the base rate forecast to fall this year, it’s likely that 2024 will see developers renew their stock pipeline when the time is right.” Sources and data tables Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals