All change

摘要

AMa: We are meeting just after the general election, and with a majority Conservative government. I had expected to be talking about the instabilities that come with a prolonged period of coalition forming; but no. Looking at the industry data, the RIBA Future Trends survey remains upbeat, and the latest Construction Products Association data is also positive. But the latest from the ONS shows construction output has formally slipped back into recession. So let me open by asking: what is the true state of the market? RS: The underlying trend feels like one of quite strong growth. The political certainty the election gave us will help. As for the ONS data, even if it's correct, we can only be seeing a quarterly slowdown; it doesn't feel like renewed recession.