Construction market "mirrors" housing sector

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:02:20 GMT

The two sectors are linked in terms of their performance, it has been claimed.

Householders have lost confidence, one expert has claimed, which in turn has had a negative effect on the construction market.

This is according to Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders, who noted what is happening in the sector "mirrors" the experience of the housing market.

He continued by saying that the "stagnation" that is currently occurring in the latter sector is having a direct influence on the former.

"They are not spending as much on improving their homes because they are worried about job security and they are worried about cuts in public sector expenditure," Mr Berry remarked.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics have found that the total volume of all new construction orders fell in the first quarter of 2011 by 23 per cent, when compared with the previous three-month period.

In terms of the same quarter of 2010, there was an 18 per cent drop.
 

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