It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Parm Bhangal, Managing Director at Bhangals Construction Consultants.
Following a busy market and a lot of investment post Covid, I believe that 2024 will be much quieter year in the construction industry than we have been used to in recent years.
Interest rates and the cost of borrowing has gone up significantly, which has meant some developers and homeowners looking to do bigger projects have been temporarily forced out of the market.
The dramatic increase in interest rates over the last year has seen a huge impact on the property market, which in turn affects the construction industry.
And because the sector is quietening, I anticipate that labour costs will continue to fall, gradually.
Builders and contractors are likely to need to work harder to secure contracts and look at their price points in order to lock in longer term projects.
Many tradespeople will be forced to bring prices down in order to compete and guarantee security.
Lately, we have seen materials prices begin to fall too as supply catches up with demand and I think that trend will continue as we go into next year.
Construction and property require such huge investment that it is currently seen as too great a risk for many. Anyone wary of the current climate is likely to hold off on investing until there is more positivity in the market.
