A slowing housing market has hit the UK construction industry, making it even more unlikely that the Government will reach its housing targets, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) UK Construction Markey Survey.

Growth in construction business fell to its lowest level for more than a decade as house builders and businesses were hit by the effects of the credit crunch and demand for housing fell away. Only 1% more chartered surveyors reported a rise than a fall in work loads, down from 16% in Q4 2007.
The worst hit sector was private housing with growth in this sector turning negative for the first time since 1999. The fall was mainly due to a downturn in the North, but private housing weakened in all regions and is now static in London and the South East, Wales, the Midlands and Northern Ireland. Around 9% more chartered surveyors reported a fall than a rise in private sector housing construction levels down from the positive figure of 16%.