THE sale of new-build houses has plummeted, trade has dried up for local construction workers – and the worst is apparently yet to come.
By the end of May only 11 new-builds and houses under construction had been sold, compared with 52 by the end of May 2008, according to Ray Sebire who compiles figures for Unusualities of Guernsey.
‘The new-build figures give clear proof of a massive slowdown,’ he said.
Guernsey Building Trades Employers’ Association president Mark Palfrey confirmed that business was very slow.
‘We surveyed our members at the start of the year to compare how they were faring and the trend was that there is far less work.’
Mr Palfrey said there was no relief in sight.
‘I think it will get worse,’ he said. ‘There isn’t a quick solution.’
He blamed the economic climate for the industry’s troubles.
‘People are more cautious. A lot of people who work in finance perhaps didn’t get their Christmas bonus so they are thinking harder about what they are spending money on.’
The reluctance to build was clearly visible, he said.
‘Before jobs come live there is a period, often as long as six months, where builders are consulted by owners over price, plans, that sort of thing. But at the moment that usually ends with the owner deciding not to go forward.’
Local builders had been hit by a double whammy, he said, because there was an increasing trend to employ UK firms rather than local workers.
‘There is less work going on and some goes to off-island contractors.’
‘UK firms are very desperate at the moment and make wild promises which they can’t always keep.’
He encouraged people to employ local builders.
‘There is an available and strong workforce right here in Guernsey and you will get them keen and ready and at a competitive price now.’
There was still some work happening, he said, but mostly extensions or revamps of existing properties.
Article posted on 10th June, 2009 - 11.30am
21 Article Comments
And yet the States are inviting tenders for their own forthcoming projects [refurbishment work at Oakvale School and Edward Wheadon House to name but two] from UK contractors.
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i believe all the roof works for the states housing project at victoria avenue has been given to guys who are not resident to the island
i hope i`m wrong but i dont think i am.
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They are still quoting outrageous prices for small jobs!
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Does this mean my builders will now turn up on time, finish the job when they say they will and within budget, tidy up when they’re finished and not head down to the Rockmount at 4.00 p.m. on a Friday?
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most locals cant do the jobs the brits come over to do half the reason is because their to lazy to bother turning up for work let alone working a full 10hr shift. !foriegners! aren’t doing the work cheaper its just they work ten times harder and are picked fisrt to do the jobs simple.
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John1
thats got to be one of the most stupid comments ever. i think you have an issue with guernsey people. go down to the fish quay and tell the guys there that, and i bet you end up in the harbour
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john1
You obviously have zero knowledge of the local industry. Whilst I am sure some of the local tradesmen are in the pub by 4pm (probably started at 7am!) they are in the minority. The local industry does a great job in training apprentices, pay local taxes etc and most importantly in my experience do a vastly superior standard of work compared to the uk contractors. If you think about it if they were that competent would they have to search for work here?
With regard the UK contractors quoting for local contracts I was hoping we had learnt by our past mistakes…..NOT.
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John that is a deeply offensive and an unintelligent thing to say, local people managed for generations without the help of the Brits, in fact this island was built by the graft of local people and still is. It is true as life styles have improved in of terms of income the locals are more choosy in what they do but people like my son a local born plumber who has his own business works long hours and makes a good living and that goes for lots of local people. You should not make the mistake of believing what some Brits do, that the island would cease to function without them because it wouldn’t, there are still a fair number of local people who want to come back to live and work in their own island which is why we keep local market home available for them.
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Mac – The difference in the standard of work is not vastly superior, that is somewhat of an exaggeration to say the least.
Dave Jones – Sadly most of the new generation of tradesmen don’t live up to their forebears. They can blame no one but themselves for their bad reputation. There are very few young, conscientious tradesmen around these days.
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Cliff
I mention the quality because of what I have seen on site and had to put right myself, trust me it is of a vastly superior quality at the higher end of the market right through the trades, if you use the right companies.
As for apprentices whilst I agree to the extent that it is much more difficult to find the right lads if you persevere the quality is still there. I employ 20 men, have 3 excellent apprentices with all of the others bar 2 (myself included)having come the apprenticship sceme
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Mac
Hear hear.
To underline the gulf in the levels of quality we only have to look at Beau Sejour – yet another job which the States gave to a UK firm [Dew] – which is still having a number of defects remedied by locals only a very few years after huge sums were spent with the UK lot.
Then, despite all the problems surrounding the Beau Sejour contract (remember Littlewoods anyone?) and the subsequent defects in Dew’s work what did the States do? Sue? Counterclaim? Withhold money? No. They said ‘please would you build us Rondin School while you’re still here’!! Beggars belief doesn’t it? And now they are still spending (hundreds of thousands of pounds, according to the grapevine) on rectifying a catalogue of defects at Rondin due to an abject paucity of quality control / management / whatever by their UK contractor.
It seems that the locals are yet again called in to put right the mistakes – but of course that means that we are all paying twice for what the local boys could have got right in the first place.
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Well I am sorry Guernsey and I am Guernsey born and bred but we have had it too good for too long, something had to give, plumbers, electricians etc charging £30.00 an hour, and you can only get one if you are lucky, its getting absolutely crazy even painters are charging £25.00 an hour. When I tell relations in the UK what charges we pay, they think I am mad.I am not saying the work is shoddy but £30.00 an hour, get real.Maybe if the work was harder to come by, the rates would be more realistic.
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Valeite
Are you sure their in the UK? as a quick search and you will find that many plumbers over there charge a lot more than that just to turn up.
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There are many ‘tradesmen’ from off-island working in Guernsey and the standard of their work is appalling in some cases, yet they seem to get away with it. For too long now people come over here mascarading as tradesmen but are nothing of the sort, this includes people from the UK. People in Guernsey moan about the prices local tradesmen charge but apart from a few cases of blatant overcharging we are only charging a rate that gives us a reasonable standard of living in a very expensive island. Personally I haven’t had a pay rise in 7 years. If you want to do something about overcharging in Guernsey then why dont you do something about the ancient laws that allow lawyers to effectively operate a cartel which allows them to charge what they like for what is really a basic human right.
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I have been looking for a local builder to do a small job (an addition to our dining room which will be about 8m x 4m) which we have planning permission for. So far had 3 quotes following more than half a dozen phone calls for a small 1 storey extension (total of 2 walls of which one is including large french doors) to fit into a gap in our L shaped bungalow. 2 didn’t bother to turn up at all despite me taking time off work to wait for them and they have been uncontactable since – the 3 that did turn up took a look, got a tape measure out for 5 minutes then gave us quotes ranging from £38,000 – £45,000 just wind and water tight and a flat roof (i.e. no electrics or plumbing and not including the french doors). Tell me they are not having a laugh and are value for money ……………
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Molly
You had 3 quotes but 2 of them didn`t even turn up ? how did they manage to give you a quote?
did they quote you from the measurements they took or from the plans (as they should have) also did they get a QS to do the quote?
it does seem a bit expensive but have you costed everything up yourself to see what it comes to? then maybe you can judge whether their having a laugh or not,
i do somtimes get the feeling there are many experts out there that know nothing about building but seem to know how much a job shouldn`t be when they cant tell us what it should be.
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Our architect told us he would estimate the TOTAL cost for everything (including a new kitchen) at £30,000. Now we allowed a 10% difference and still the quotes were way off – as the kitchen was not included! We are not experts in the costs of building materials but surely our architect would be. When we told him the quotes he was flabbergasted. We are now waiting for other quotes to come in – but no one seems to be in a hurry to do a ‘little job’ .
bcb: Perhaps i didn’t make myself clear : We phoned dozens of builders and eventually got 3 to actually come and see our property and look at the plans. They still got their tape measures out – and they took the plans away to talk to their suppliers etc. They also said they couldn’t start until October as there was too much work around and they had summer holidays to fit in etc and that would mean we could be delayed by weather problems etc. No one was willing to give us a fixed price. We have all but given up. It would be cheaper to move except we begrudge paying a fortune to estate agents and lawyers ………..
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Molly,
never trust an architects guess …. they always underestimate, its in their best interests for you not to be put off by the costs and get them to then prepare the plans etc.
Using a QS (Quantative Surveyor) is definately the way to go. The builders that I am currently using, always use a QS who prepares the quotes for them. The level of detail is great (ours ran to about 35 pages). It gives a very good idea of where the costs are and makes a great working document for planning between you and the builders as well as managing staged payments and retainers once you commence. It makes the whole project very transparent. It also allows you to see tje cost savings you can make by taking on those little jobs yourself … e.g. painting doors or walls etc.
In our case, the builders paid for the QS’s work which was added to the bill if we accepted the quote (about £300). I strongly suggest looking for builders that operate in a similar fashion.
Hope that helps.
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Molly
that was good advice from Jamie. i bet your architect wont be shocked at his own price for the plans he prepares for you? the prices they charge for the work they do esp now most is done with a computer programe isn`t exactly cheap.
If you get a quote it should be a fixed price unless there are unforseen extra`s or you change the job detail yourself.
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Thanks for the advice re: using a QS. However, i didn’t think they would be interested in what is essentially a 2 wall one-storey extention including a large expanse of area taken up with french doors? Perhaps i am wrong!
My architect is still not living in the technical age and does all his technical drawings by hand – and his costs are fair (judging by asking around).
Anyway i will ring around a few QS to see if they are interested. One thing i am not sure of is which comes first: the QS or the Builder? Do they come together as again the small size of our extension may put us out of the running.
Thanks again.
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from my own bitter experience the locals are too expensive, poor quality and too slow. I had a tiling job done by a local firm. It took them way too long and after calling them back to repair shoddy work I gave up and will have to fix myself. I also had a one room extension over my garage designed and quoted for by a “reputable” firm. A garage sized room and the quote was £50,000 with no topside. And when I cancelled it they would only refund some of the deposit if I signed a contract saying that if the work was ever to go ahead they had do do the work or I had to pay them a 5k fine. Having a laugh, really? My advice is to keep your money rather than give it to these people.
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