Construction of new homes 'has not improved'
20th May 2011
The UK constructing sector has not made any real progress in the last year, with the creation of new homes still somewhat stagnant, one industry expert has stated.
Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders, said that activity has been "depressing" in the last few months.
This is despite the publication of a new report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which showed that rising workloads in the private commercial and housing sectors have led to an overall improvement in the construction market.
Mr Berry said that this may have been the case in the commercial sector, but it is "certainly not the case" in the private domestic sector.
"We know that because most of our members are working in the housing market and the activity there has been depressing - at least for the last three years, we have had falling workloads," he explained.
He referred to a quarter-one survey carried out by the organisation earlier in the year, which showed that 38 per cent of members reported falling workloads.
Mr Berry said he thinks there may be "pockets of activity" in other sectors of the construction sector, but not for small builders. 
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