During the past three months, Davis Langdon’s Construction Sentiment Index fell by a surprising 5 points to reach 61. Davis Langdon attributes the decline in the index to a concerned property industry that is being impacted by a combination of planning and industrial relations issues. According to David Langdon, this is unexpected, and suggests a high degree of concern by respondents about the real rate of recovery in the construction industry.
The key findings from this quarter’s David Langdon Construction Sentiment Monitor include:
- a 9% leap in skills shortages
- the civil and resource sector is the most likely to contribute to growth in upcoming months
- concern over industrial relations is rife
- the planning process has knocked the wind from sentiment recovery
- obtaining finance continues to be the biggest obstacle in the building development process
Whilst the survey points to a number of concern areas, it also points to a drop in confidence within the industry, questioning whether the private sector will be able to step up to the mark and takeover when the supply of Government-funded stimulus projects dry up. View the full report here.