Demographics & spend

Domain article – July 2006

http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1151778974178&index=HomeRenovations

“Take out the small stuff and the average renovation costs more like $150,000 to $200,000, he says, “but it’s not unusual for renovations to cost up to a million dollars, especially in Sydney” and Melbourne”

HOUSING REPORT HIGHLIGHTS SUPPLY CHALLENGES – 28 Feb 2008

http://economics.hia.com.au/media/December%20Qtr%202007%20National%20Outlook.pdf

“Further increases in rates will serve to put further upward pressure on house prices and rents. As a nation we are building at least 20,000 new dwellings less than what is required,” Mr Lamont said.

New house starts in 2007/08 are expected to inch up by just 0.5 per cent to 151,676. A sizeable increase in residential building starts will not occur until 2008/9, with a forecasted 4 per cent growth expected in 2008/9.

While growth in new home building remains flat, renovation activity is expected to continue to grow. Total investment in renovations hit a new record of $28.2 billion in 2006/07 and growth of a further 10 per cent is forecast over the next three years.

“The undersupply of new housing is fueling a resurgence in renovation activity,” said Chris Lamont.

CSR — looking ahead

CSR Annual Report – March 2007

http://www.csr.com.au/investorcentre/reports.asp?id=%7BDB7BB19F%2D9F67%2D479A%2DAA71%2D52F1189E80B0%7D

 

Building Products http://www.csr.com.au/investorcentre/files/report20070331/07%20BuildingProducts.pdf

-           - Australian residential building continued to be weak in the east coast markets, with housing commencements in the year to December 2006 down 5% in New South Wales (where the rate of detached housing construction was at a 35 year low).

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-           - In other market segments, alterations and additions to dwellings rose 4% (measured by the value of work done) and commercial building activity was up 11%.

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-           - The medium-term outlook for the residential building market is positive.

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-           - We are continuing an intensive production and distribution network improvement program to ensure that we optimize the efficiency of our businesses to improve profitability and to be ready for a market upturn.

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-           - CSR is growing in new products and services in existing and adjacent markets. We are increasingly developing our range of product systems that generate substantial benefits in improving the energy efficiency of buildings.

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-           - In Australia, we expect demand for insulation and ventilation systems to grow strongly. Legislative changes requiring improved energy efficiency in new dwellings and commercial buildings are set to drive strong growth in markets for improved insulation and ventilation systems.

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-           - This trend is accelerating also in our large Asian markets.

 

The Year Ahead

-           This year, we will: grow through acquisitions and extending our range of products, including those which provide improved energy effi ciency and sustainability of residential and commercial buildings.

 

 

Sustainability Report

http://www.csr.com.au/investorcentre/files/report20070331/10%20SustainabilityReport.pdf

 

- Last year saw a number of environmental and other initiatives boost our performance as a responsible corporate citizen.

 

- CSR also continued expanding its environmentally responsible products and services, including the production of renewable fuel ethanol and electricity as well as products specifically targeting improved energy efficiency of residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

 

- Climate change and its implications will be integrated into strategic planning processes across CSR. All of our businesses will identify both risks and opportunities which climate change may present.

 

- We are extending our involvement in Greenhouse Challenge Plus – a cooperative partnership between industry and the Australian Government – to all CSR’s operations.

CSR Mission Statement

From the home page of CSR: http://www.csr.com.au/Corporate/default.asp

 

CSR is a leading diversified manufacturing company with operations throughout Australia as well as in Asia and New Zealand. For more than 150 years, CSR has been famous for the certainty built in to the company’s range of leading products and services. You can be sure with CSR.

 

The overarching statement would seem to be “You can be sure with CSR”.