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Housing construction output remains at half 2019 levels despite June surge
Housebuilding construction output in the UK remains at less than half 2019 levels despite a record surge in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
Public housebuilding – which does not include housing associations – is worse affected than the private sector, figures released today show, while repairs and maintenance construction is also well down on last year.
The value of private new build housing construction work over the three months to June 2020 was 52.6% lower than in the same period last year, a record decrease since the ONS began publishing the data in January 2010.
For the public sector, the drop was 56.9% – again a record fall.
However, the value of private sector housebuilding in June soared a record 42.3% to £1.83bn on the previous month.
In the public sector, housebuilding construction value increased by 39% month on month to £314m, which is also a record.
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Data on repairs and maintenance tells a similar story, with the £1.1bn value of private housing work in June a record 44% rise from May, but the value over the last quarter still a record 51.1% decrease compared with 2019.
The value of repairs and maintenance work on public sector housing in June was £391m, again a record 21.5% uptick but still not enough to prevent the quarterly year-on-year figure being 42.4% lower – the biggest ever drop.
The vast majority of sites across the UK temporarily closed in late March amid the coronavirus outbreak, while all but essential repairs and maintenance work was also put on hold.
Most sites have since reopened, albeit at reduced capacity due to social distancing measures.
Housing overall, including both public and private new build as well as repairs and maintenance, contributed more to the decline in construction growth than all other sectors combined, the ONS said.
Across all sectors, the value of new work decreased by 35.2% in April to June compared with January to March, with private housing falling 51.2%.
Repairs and maintenance work across all sectors fell by 34.7% on the previous quarter, driven largely by a 46.5% drop in private sector housing.
Total construction output grew by a record 23.5% in June, compared with a 7.3% rise in May.
But despite the industry’s move towards recovery, construction output in June was still 24.8% below the February level before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK.
The value of new orders across all construction sectors for April to June was £6.17bn, a decrease of 51.1% on the previous quarter and the lowest level since records began in 1964.
