Tough Start for Residential Market in Great Britain - New Build and Refurbishment Affected in Q1 2013 Latest Barbour ABI Construction Review Report Reveals

CHESHIRE OAKS, England, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

• Commercial and retail sectors bounce back in Q1 2013
• Industrial sector holds steady growth

Latest research from expert provider of market intelligence for the Built Environment sector, Barbour ABI, has revealed the value of contracts being awarded to build new homes and refurbish properties has plunged to its lowest level since 2010 in Great Britain.

Figures from Barbour ABI's Construction Review ReportQ1 2013 being published tomorrow (April 26, 2013) show the total level of contracts awarded in the residential sector is down 26% on the previous quarter (Q4 2012).  They are also down 37% on the corresponding quarter of 2012.  The levels were at their lowest for any quarter since Q3 2010.

Austerity measures continued in the Public Housing sector in particular where levels of contracts awarded were down 43% on the previous quarter, and down 33% on the same quarter of the previous year.

The cuts to individual Local Authority budgets appear to have passed down quickly to housing stock as levels of contracts awarded were down 76% on the last quarter of 2012, and down 62% for the same quarter of 2012.

The report comes after the ONS announced this morning that GDP in the UK grew by 0.3% in Q1 2013.

Adam Valentine Group Content Director at Barbour ABI for Barbour ABI said; "New Government measures haven't had much time to trickle through to the private Housing sector and as a result the first quarter has failed to fulfil the promise that it would pull back the losses suffered in the public housing sector."

The Report also highlights that potentially delays and confusion around the Government's Green Deal for domestic homes has not helped.

Dr Noble Francis, Economics Director of the Construction Products Association, comments in the Report: "The second quarter should herald a return to growth but rather than reflecting the start of the recovery for the industry as a whole, it is more likely to be due to increased activity initially delayed in the weather-affected first quarter."

Commercial property sectors show some growth

However, the Report shows relatively steady growth in 2012 continued in the industrial sector for Q1 2013, although the total levels of contracts awarded were down 13% on the previous quarter. Promisingly this was up 23% on the same quarter of the previous year.

After a worrying end to 2012 the commercial and retail sectors bounced back to the levels seen across the first half of last year, with the levels of contracts awarded only 3% down on the same quarter last year. If these awards lead to 'shovels in the ground' there remains hope for a brighter end to 2013 than many forecast.

Barbour ABI produces its Construction Review Report every quarter and the Report is compiled by its team of researchers using planning information data from England, Scotland and Wales.

The Report is a free publication and is available on request or from the Barbour ABI website from tomorrow. http://www.barbour-abi.com

Notes to editors

Barbour ABI is the leading provider of construction intelligence products, providing UK companies with sales leads, contact data, CRM software and market intelligence.  Its reputation is built and maintained by the in house team of market researchers who have excellent working relationships with planning authorities and other relevant information providers, including Government departments.

Barbour ABI was recently made responsible for publishing data for the UK Government's Construction and Infrastructure Pipeline, which outlines future construction and infrastructure projects where public funding is agreed. 

Barbour ABI produces the CPA/Barbour ABI Index monthly alongside the Construction Products Association (CPA), and is the chosen data provider for the CPA Forecasting Panel.

Barbour ABI is part of UBM plc's specialist media division UBM Built Environment. UBM Built Environment is widely acknowledged as having some of the most iconic brands in the market, including Building, Property Week, Building Design (BD), RESI, Barbour Product Search, Public Property Summit, Sleep, Decorex, Interiors and Ecobuild.