BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - October 22, 2010) - According to the McGraw-Hill "Construction Outlook 2010 Midyear Update" the year 2010 had been viewed to be the first year of recovery for total construction starts, however, given the slower expansion surrounding the overall U.S. economy, the improving trend for single family housing paused in late spring, therefore the gain for full year 2010 will be smaller than previously forecasted. The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North America's largest alternative funding source for small businesses, uses the index to gage the construction factoring marketplace.
In 2010 the loss of momentum for commercial building has not been as severe as it was for the year 2009, but losses remain fairly substantial. Institutional building retreated, and was made worse by the eroding state and localized fiscal situation. And, while the lift to public works construction from the federal stimulus act is still present, the push directed at highway and bridge construction has subsided. On a more positive note, there has been stronger activity for environmental public works and a rebound for healthcare facilities.
Overall trends include the fact that by early 2010, real estate had improved in some markets in the U.S., while enjoying a significant boom in China, Canada and a few other areas. Eventually in virtually all real estate markets a bottom will be reached and business will pick up gradually. But for now, many major development projects have been cancelled, downsized, or delayed.
Home sales may rebound reasonably well by 2011 or 2012 if the global recovery begins. But sadly many owners of home and commercial properties will realize a current value of less than what they paid, and their mortgage debts at higher levels than the value of the properties.
In the commercial property arena, investment sectors remain slow while vacancies remain high, especially in office markets and retail shopping centers. Commercial mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures will continue, while funding for speculative commercial projects will remain hard to obtain. U.S. banks had $1.8 trillion in commercial property loans on their books in early 2008, and now write offs on those loans are projected to run more than $200 billion, or at 12 percent, by the end of 2010.
There is also a trend towards consolidation of development and construction firms, with focus to debt reduction risk management and cost control. In fact, currently many construction firms have survived only through the use of construction factoring. Construction companies or contractors no longer have to wait for payment before starting on the next phase of a project, or to begin construction on a new project. Factoring provides subcontractors with a quick turnaround on accounts receivable due for completed stages of a construction project, thus speeding up cash flow and improving the company's ability to start immediately on the next phase of construction.
IFG Network is one of the few factoring companies that provide construction factoring for short term financing against completed construction jobs, and immediate payment for finished project stages.
In addition to Construction Factoring, IFG's popular private label factoring solutions include Export Factoring, providing factoring services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; and Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they must expand and purchase inventory.
IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables, and there are no minimum or maximum sales volume requirements. Upon receipt of invoices, IFG checks the credit of the debtor named on the invoice and makes sure that the sale represented has been satisfactorily completed. Once this is done the debtor is advised of the purchase by IFG and the client receives their funding.
IFG's professional rates are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged. The program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money, while spending the minimum fees to guarantee adequate cash flow.
About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)
The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and offers cross-border transaction facilities between the U.S. and Canada. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 35 years of experience, IFG provides innovative invoice factoring solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.
IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.
Contact Information:
Media Contacts:
Kristin Gabriel
MarCom New Media
T: 323.650.2838
E:
Headquarters:
The Interface Financial Group, Inc.
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1430
Bethesda, MD 20154
T: Toll Free: USA -- 877.210.9748
T: Toll Free: Canada -- 877.340.6893