Construction
Is the Building Industry on
the verge of a recovery,
being misled by statistics?
T
or
he South African building
industry has been in a slump
for the past seven years, not
being able to recover from the
robust growth experienced in the
build up to the 2010 World Cup
event between 2004 and 2007.
Investment in buildings started contracting in 2008, but the real game changer
was 2010 when investment plummeted
by 11,8 percent year on year. The sad
reality is that investment has since then
not shown any real growth in real terms,
averaging an increase of just 0.2 percent
between 2011 and 2013.
The first quarter of this year was no
different, and in fact worsened as investment growth in non-residential
buildings slowed to 0,6 percent and
the decline in residential investment
quickened to 3,1 percent. It is therefore
understandable that all eyes are fixed on
the movement of so called “leading indicators” desperately seeking for pearls of
wisdom of when the industry is likely to
show a more meaningful, and also more
sustainable, recovery.
The one indicator, mos