Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.6% in volume terms in April 2023 following two months of consecutive growth, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The decrease in output was mainly due to a 1% fall in new work. Five out of the nine sectors tracked by the ONS suffered a fall in April, with the biggest decreases being housing repair and maintenance and private housing new work, which slumped by 5.7% and 3% respectively.
The ONS said anecdotal evidence suggested there was a continued slow down in private housing with customers “hesitant to request work”.
In the three months to April 2023, construction output increased by 1.6% – the eighth period of consecutive growth in the three-month-on-three-month series. The largest positive contributor to the increase in the three months to April 2023 was private housing repair and maintenance (7.1%).
Clive Docwra, managing director of property and construction consultancy McBains, said: “After last month’s figures fuelled hopes of green shoots of recovery, today’s statistics will come as a blow to the construction sector. Particularly disappointing was that the fall was as a result of a decrease in new work, suggesting that confidence remains low among many big investors.
“It’s little surprise that private housing continues to struggle, and with falling house prices and low mortgage approval rates it will take some months before volume housebuilding shows a turnaround.”
