Strongest expansion in commercial development activity in two years – Savills
Savills says its Commercial Development Activity Index for March recorded the strongest monthly expansion in two years. There were improvements in both the private and public sectors – work on private-sector contracts grew for the third month in a row, while public-sector activity rose overall, for the first time since February 2010.
Savills says around 25% of commercial developers reported an increase in activity during March while 12% recorded a decline. The net balance of the index was +13.1% for March, compared with –3.6% in February.
Developers were again optimistic when it came to expectations for activity levels during the next three months, with sentiment broadly unchanged from February. The net balance recorded was +8.7% for March after a +8.8% reading for the previous month, with an expected improvement in general economic conditions the main reason for the optimism. Around 18% of developers expected activity to increase, while 10% forecast a decline.
At sector level, the strongest expansion in activity was recorded in industrial and warehouse-related projects, where 24% of respondents reported a rise in output and only 7% a contraction. Savills says this is the strongest rate of expansion since June 2007. You can see full listings of available industrial units for sale and to let via NovaLoca here – simply click on an area of the map to zoom in for more detail.
