If like me you are interested in such stats the below is interesting. With such extreme headlines thrust at us during the Brexit vote period this sort of article is not just reassuring but a solid reinforcement of much of what we have said and of course good news for the construction and housing industry.
The article reads as follows: The Office of National Statistics latest construction figures revealed that output stabilised in July and remained largely unaffected by the Brexit vote.
Following June’s drop of 1.0% in June, construction output remained unchanged – going against economists’ expectations of a further decrease.
When compared with July 2015, construction output had fallen by 1.5%, with all new work, and repair and maintenance falling by 0.6% and 3.2% respectively.
In the three months to the end of June, new construction orders were 8.6% higher than the previous quarter – the biggest increase since the second quarter of 2013.
Private housing saw a sharp increase of 25% over the previous quarter, marking the biggest increase in six years. However, infrastructure saw a dramatic downward turn of 17.4%.
New orders in the second quarter of 2016 (April to June) increased by 8.6% in comparison with the first quarter (January to March) and rose by 7.5% compared with the same period last year.
The rise in housebuilding comes after the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced the date for the Autumn Statement and said that building new homes is key to increasing growth in the UK.
ONS statistician Nick Vaughan said: “Construction output remained steady in July with growth in infrastructure offset by falls in repair work and commercial buildings.
“There was strong growth in construction orders, led by housing, after nearly two years of orders remaining relatively flat.”
BASTION ESTATES COMMENT: The government is set to continue its support and investment in the construction industry which is key to much of the overall economic performance of the country as a whole. We have covered much of this in previous blog posts but it is still good to hear it from the Office of National Statistics.
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