Construction

The cement industry looks set for a shake-up in the coming 12 months. With new supply coming to market and the major local players regrouping following the Competition Commission’s cartel ruling against them, pricing may begin to head in a more positive direction for the construction industry.

The current global financial woes have hit property around the world as hard as any other sector. Weak export markets, a sluggish local economy, as well as poor business and consumer sentiment have all hindered the performance of local property activity in many markets, including South Africa.

Looking at the skyline of any major South African city, you will see far fewer cranes than during the construction surge that occurred in the past decade, when the prospects of hosting the FIFA World Cup led to a huge building drive incorporating everything from stadia and hotels to large-scale transport infrastructure projects. More so than any...

One of the best performing segments of the real estate sector over the past 12 months has been commercial office property. The office segment achieved an 11.2% overall return (income and capital) in 2012, the best performer outside industrial real estate and well above the sector average of 10.4% (retail had a return of 10.1%). Even so, the...

Heavily dependent on the construction sector’s progress, the local cement industry took a slight dip in production in 2012. In the 12 months to May 2013 the production of Portland cement, the most commonly used material for infrastructure and housing in Colombia, amounted to 10.79m tonnes, representing a 1.67% year-on-year (y-o-y) decrease,...

In times of crisis, property ownership is often seen as one of the safest investment ventures, partly due to secured regular income from rentals. Over the past decade Colombia has built up a strong market for residential leasing and continues to see a number of dynamic factors that are increasing its potential.