Fall in housing fuels slump in construction orders

Monday, 5 September 2011 12:37 PM

Orders for new homes weakened again in the second quarter as total new orders for construction slumped to their lowest level since 1980.

Figures for the second quarter of the year released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that total orders received by construction firms were down 16.3 per cent on the first quarter.

Within that total, new private housing was down 7.7 per cent on the previous quarter and 20.6 per cent on a year ago. And orders for new social housing were down more than 30 per cent on both comparisons at their lowest level in five years.

A second survey also shows that housing was helping to paint a gloomy picture for new building work.

According to the August Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers Index, housing continued to post a contraction of activity in August, although the rate of decline eased slightly on July.

David Noble, chief executive officer at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: "The housing sector continues to be a worry with a fall in the number of residential projects adding to an already sluggish picture for the sector."

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