In the construction market of St. Petersburg is a kind of industry globalization - projects are becoming more widespread, the market come major metropolitan players. As a result, small companies are forced to withdraw from a segment of development. Many do not seek happiness in the side, but shifted to outsourced services and supplies. Now in this segment demand exceeds supply, and continues to grow.

Global projects - favorite chip city administration. When Governor Vladimir Yakovlev, many small contractors and repair companies even managed to move into a new quality - have become developers. However, the distribution of the sale of rights to the building of huge plots of land, coupled with their high cost and total insecurity of engineering does not allow small companies and even a large number of medium to remain in the role of developers. Work on global projects can only large enterprises. "Now in the large plots of land that did not pull the small firms. They gradually "washed out" the market ", - said Boris Pugachev, executive director of the Union of construction companies" SoyuzPetroStroy.

Plots of land for future construction now actively buying up large companies mainly from other regions, mainly - the capital. Petersburg companies among them a little. According to Dmitry Nikolaev, executive director of SC "Padams" Today project development can deal only with those who long ago acquired the land. However, according to Sergei Smirnov, Head of Marketing and Advertising Group of companies "Prok," St. Petersburg is still an adequate reserve - small spots suitable for medium-sized companies. He believes that in the next three to five years, major players can not completely squeezed out of the market medium-sized firms: "They're leaving those who were unreliable. The reasons for withdrawal from the development - the lack of competent management, planning, resource base construction, which allows at least some work was done independently. "

"Medium and small companies in the whole cycle of works have tried to do yourself - and to build and sell. Now you have to go in a row. The market today needs a company specializing in contract work ", - said Boris Pugachev. The most demanded type of contract - the construction of monolithic-brick walls, as well as supplies. But defectors consecutive developers lose money.

Big risks are small

According to Sergei Smirnov, the profitability of the construction business in the whole market is estimated at 5-15%. According to "Soyuzpetrostroya, usually profitability of the company-builder is 25-30%. Dmitriy Nikolayev believes that the profitability of contract works in times less than the developer. At the contractor can earn a maximum of 10-12%.

At the same time, developers and risk of more contractors. The main risk - stop work at the facility. The reasons are numerous: the requirements of regulatory authorities, failure to finance the construction parties, delayed deliveries, violation of terms of performance of works by contractors and subcontractors. But at least part of their risk developer can negate. For example, penalize partners or compensate for irregular financing through loan funds. Contracting companies, too, am allowed to borrow. However, resorting to borrowing, the contractor may lose the tender, as the credit increases the cost of works. Contractors today, however, are forced to take short loans. But increasingly had to invest their own funds, said Dmitry Nikolaev.

In accordance with the construction market settlement scheme payment occurs in stages. For example, the customer advances 50% of the future workload of the remaining 50% - after completion of the facility. That is, the contractor must perform about half of the work at their own expense. If the entire volume is divided into several parts, the customer is calculated by the contractor after each phase. The scheme envisages compulsory investment of own funds the contractor only at the initial stage, so that the advancing of work may be a small part of total costs, such as 10-15%. But for the contracting company and is - the risk.

There are a contractor, there are other risks, for example - related to the supply of building materials. Prices are constantly growing - following the construction companies increase prices remaining participants in the process. This increases construction costs. As a rule, more expensive materials occurs in May, the eve of the revitalization of construction related to the onset of the warm period. One of the risks of contractors and suppliers - the lack of accurate predictions of growth in prices for raw materials, which leads to unpredictable costs. Most suffer from this fine company.

"The market for building materials is not saturated, there is no inventory", - says Dmitry Nikolaev. Therefore, a deficit of a particular type of building materials suppliers may disrupt the timing of shipment. For those contractors who buy large volumes of products, the risks are not as high. According to Peter Morinova, Director of Sales, "URSA Eurasia, where the materials will be missed, before others get their contractors, who" proved to be stable. In addition, a large volume of supplies manufacturers give discounts on their products. A small company in the event of shortages forced to "queue up". And they have really bad when there are disruptions from producers that, unfortunately, is not uncommon. Told Dmitry Nikolaev, last year in Moscow at the time to close one of the factories for the production of heaters. The deficit has arisen such that the price of this material has tripled. Such risks and can not be predicted.

When disruption of deliveries and, consequently, performance time earnings in general can come to naught. According to Boris Pugachev, in "SoyuzPetroStroy" also known about the kickbacks, the contractors are forced to pay the organizers of tenders. This leads to additional costs and expensive construction.

"Yes, you can earn in a quiet market, when the customer pays a regular basis - comments Nikolaev. - But the loss of contractors are essential.

The deficit in seven years

In St. Petersburg, increasing volumes of construction. Housing is added slowly, large projects quarterly construction as there are only on paper. However, the volume of orders for construction work increases due to strong non-residential building construction purposes. According to Dmitry Nikolaev, today is built a lot of logistics facilities, industrial enterprises, projects of reconstruction of buildings for nonresidential use. Accordingly, the growth of construction volumes grow and the volume contracts.

Demand in the industry is seasonal, since the summer construction is activated. But in a stable period, he is unsatisfied. The main reason - the growing shortage of building materials, and, according to Sergei Smirnov, almost all species. Most often it is growing in the hot season, but often at other times, due to poorly-functioning system of transportation or lack of storage facilities.

According to URSA Eurasia, is already a shortage of virtually all types of insulation materials, and demand in this segment is projected to be more and grow. First, this is due to technological advances. While that level of consumption of heat insulation materials in Russia and European markets is not comparable, but as it expands in Russia modern construction technologies demand for such materials will grow. In addition, stricter requirements for teplosberezheniyu that makes developers increasingly use heaters when erecting fencing structures. According to the company "URSA Eurasia in recent years, demand for insulation has grown by 15% annually, so that by 2010 total demand for insulation will increase to 24-32 million cubic meters, including housing, will require 18-20 million cubic meters.

According to Peter Morinova, demand could slow if the building materials market would increase supply in different segments. But this is only possible with the organization of new industries, the construction of new enterprises. However, in the next seven years of market saturation is not expected.

Who's new on

According to the ITM Group, a couple of years ago, when the building process has slowed somewhat, and construction companies have experienced shortages of working capital, some contracting company changed direction and switched to corporate clients in private. "Private orders generate more funds, but they are harder to obtain, - commented Sergei Smirnov. - Corporate clients provide constant load capacity, but less profit. And for the contracting and subcontracting companies are sometimes more important than load capacity than to get more profit.

As the market contracted services is growing, it not only returned to the company, who left in time to the developers, but also appear quite new, sometimes not even familiar with the specifics of the construction industry. Such companies entering the market are experiencing the full range of related problems. "Returnees" is somewhat simpler.

Threshold to enter the market varies depending on the type of contract services. For some species require large expenditures for material and technical basis for the other - much smaller. To enter the market, believes Sergei Smirnov, three important components - the technical base, personnel and management. Today, led many companies newcomers are experienced leaders in the past worked in the major contractors or construction companies. Personnel matter is more complicated. According to Dmitry Nikolayev, keep your own work - expensive. Average "legal" pay specialists at a construction site is 25-30 thousand rubles. However, it is growing - slowly, as the legalization of immigrants.

Entrance - free

Globalization, according to Peter Morin, evident even in the market of general contracting services, but the contractor is still working a lot of small firms: "I think this is a temporary phenomenon. Construction boom triggers access to this market for all and sundry. Typically, nothing good comes out of this "crowd" does not work. In the near future they will leave. " Yet today, according to the head of a contracting firm, "there are many offices, which hire the Uzbeks - and off they'd go."

Market services, believed to have formed. Therefore, there should come the stage of competition. According to Dmitry Nikolayev, the market is now almost saturated, but the quality of work in many cases leaves much to be desired. The quality is not always claimed by customers. "In the segment of expensive housing quality to compete in the mass - the price and speed of order execution", - explains Peter Morin.

"If a contractor decides to compete on quality of work, participating in the tender, he calls the prices are higher than all the rest, - says Dmitry Nikolaev. - But often the customer chooses a low price, and then learns about the quality. "Padams", for example, when tenders for subcontracting work, immediately cuts off the highest and lowest prices. Remaining mean proposals from them and choose the best. Although the greed of investors sometimes prevails over reason. " As usual, eager to pay twice: first - winner in the tender to the contractor for substandard work, then - a new company, which invite to correct blunders.

Crown competition - dumping - is also present on the market. According to Sergei Smirnov, there are different reasons for dumping. First, the low prices offered by the companies that do not even try to hide that the quality of their work will be low. Secondly, the company may have unique technologies that can significantly reduce the cost of the process. Thirdly, it is a way to market - price war with competitors and the ousting of the market. "We are looking for loopholes - new technologies that can reduce the cost of construction, - said Smirnov. - But while the horizon of the global technological breakthrough is not observed. Thus, dumping today - mainly a way of entering the market.

Competition prevents quality

Experts say that competition for contract services will continue to grow. However, lower prices or to ensure high quality of work it can not.

Reduced prices can not be due to the growth of all other components in the first place - the increased cost of construction materials. "Housing prices today are changing differentiated: more expensive expensive, low-cost reductions, - says Peter Morin. - If all the housing will become cheaper, the market participants will have to at least stop the price at the current level or increase the proportion of contract work in the cost structure. " But, according to Dmitry Nikolaev, even this may not happen: prices for outsourced work will be increased primarily due to the increased cost of construction materials.

If the volume of construction continue to grow at its current pace, the demand for outsourced services also will grow. In these circumstances, believes Sergei Smirnov, customers do not pay attention to quality: "The question that will grow more quickly - the demand or quality. In addition, we can not exclude the globalization of the market contracting services after the developer segment. But this is only an assumption, practical confirmation of that yet.