It has been ten years since the last time so few new houses were built in Norway. This is shown by figures from both Statistics Norway and Boligproduktorene. The decrease in May was 67 per cent for new new dwellings. The construction of apartments has decreased by as much as 89 per cent compared to the same time last year. This means that it is heading for bad times for employees in construction. In Florø, the contracting company Trygve Ullaland AS has gone from housing construction to small jobs, in order to keep people in work. Small private customers keep the wheels going Sondre Døskeland is putting the finishing touches on what will become a new yard in Eikefjord outside Florø. The work has taken him a couple of days. Before, the work could require both years and millions. Now the construction company Trygve Ullaland AS is hired for assignments for just a thousand Swedish kronor. – Due to the fact that demand has fallen, we have seen work on hold and we can no longer continue building, says Døskeland’s boss, Thor-Arne Ullaland. The employees of Trygve Ullaland AS have taken on several small jobs in people’s gardens. Photo: Truls Kleiven Fewer people want to buy and build houses, something Ullaland and his colleagues have noticed the consequences of. Several companies have had to put large construction projects on hold. For Ullaland in Florø, the solution has been to come up with new work tasks: – Now we can deliver to private customers a load of soil or a load of gravel for a thousand pounds. Concern about downsizing Managing Director of Boligprodukterene, Lars Jacob Hiim is concerned about the situation as it is today. – Many people find that the economy is tighter by the day and fewer and fewer can afford to buy a home. Those who can afford it do not dare because there is so much uncertainty that they sit on the fence and wait. Hiim says there is reason to fear even more downsizing beyond the autumn, as the order reserves become empty. – The Forecast Center has calculated for us that as many as 15,000 man-years could disappear in the entire value chain. That means both those who build homes, but also those who deliver. The number of bankruptcies has also increased. A review from the industry website tungg.no shows that there were 151 more bankruptcies in the construction and construction industry in the first half of this year compared to last year. It also shows in the unemployment figures from Nav. Only in Vestland has the vacancy rate for employees in construction increased by 35 per cent in June, compared with the same month last year. Sondre Døskeland would have liked to have worked on a larger project, but is happy to have a job to go to. Photo: Truls Kleiven Although Hiim fears that it will take time before housing construction will increase again, he looks positively on companies that make use of creative solutions to get the wheels turning, such as Ullaland in Florø. – It is important to maintain competence. But some people have a lot of work. But the picture is not entirely black. At least not yet.On top of a roof in Førde, concrete workers are busy laying concrete on the building that will soon house a dozen new apartments. – We are busy, actually too much, says construction site manager Tom Årdal. Although there are reports of building plans being put on hold for a long time, the situation is different for the contractor company Åsen & Øvrelid AS. They are still benefiting from the construction boom in the growth center Førde. The concrete workers are currently busy with work on a construction site in Førde. Åsen & Øvrelid, which is a major player in Western Norway, is among the construction companies that still have a good order reserve. Photo: Andrine Gald Myklebust / news By developing their own projects, the construction company in Førde has created a buffer in the form of projects where they themselves are developers. So far, housing sales have not stopped. When that happens, Årdal trusts that there are jobs in projects other than housing. – There are probably other things to do than building apartments, hopes the construction site manager. Looking forward to bigger projects In the neighboring town of Florø, Sondre Døskeland thinks it’s okay to do small jobs for short periods. He does not hide the fact that he is looking forward to being able to take on larger projects. The machine operator is nevertheless clear that the alternative could be even worse: – In that sense, I would rather have small jobs than no job at all.
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The construction industry is noticing the housing slowdown – many in the construction and contracting industry have to think alternatively – news Vestland
