Timber Frame to boost housebuilding market in 2014

The research found that value growth in the SIPS market and rising volume demand for open panel timber frame will continue to drive healthy growth for off-site manufacturers and timber suppliers in 2014.  Wood panels are set to continue to gain share as housebuilders increasingly adopt timber frame as a more cost effective method of building new homes.  MTW suggest that whilst timber frame’s cost benefits have narrowed in recent years against brick & block housebuilding, less ‘snagging’ and reduced on site build times continue to offer good reasons to choose timber frame over brick and block construction.

Supported by George Osborne’s Autumn statement this week that “There are signs that the housing market recovery is prompting a supply response”, MTW’s report forecasts house building starts at around 150,000 in 2014 – a rise of 10% in the next 12 months. 

Speaking exclusively to Buildingtalk, MTW’s director Mark Waddy pointed to, “…More than £15 billion being spent next year on house building materials alone, with timber frame taking an increasingly larger share.  Whilst a ‘housing boom’, remains a long way off, growth is set to be significant in the next few years, particularly as new build activity has not matched demand for new homes for a number of years now.”

The report also reviews the commercial timber frame construction market, finding that value growth was also evident in this sector in 2013 and is set to strengthen in 2014.  As part of the wider MMC market where modern methods of construction contribute more than £1.6 billion to the construction industry, timber frame is gaining share in non-domestic applications.  MTW’s forecast models suggest a 100% increase in non-domestic timber frame construction in the next few years, underpinning a growing sense of optimism in the timber industry generally. 

Based on financials from 80% of the timber frame industry, the research underlines optimism across much of the timber frame market as well as the wider housebuilding and construction market in 2013 and beyond.  The positive findings by the report are echoed by the Government’s Autumn statement that construction grew by 1.7% in Q3 2013 and by 3.6% since the start of 2013.  By 2017, MTW forecasts the entire timber frame construction sector to be worth almost £700 million, representing rapid growth in the next 4 years outpacing many other sectors in the construction industry. 

The 200 page report is available now from MTW Research’s website www.marketresearchreports.co.uk for £565 or by calling 08456 524324.