Starts on site have increased across all sectors of the industry, according to data provider Glenigan.
The total grew by 2 per cent in the three months to July, boosted by residential and civils work, which rose by 12 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
This compares with the three months to May, when overall project starts fell by 13 per cent.
There are still some drags on the sector’s recovery, with non-residential construction down 10 per cent over the latest period and the number of starts on site lagging 11 per cent behind this time last year.
Among non-residential projects, schemes in the education and hotel and leisure sectors proved the most positive. The number of education projects slipped by 1 per cent on the previous three months, but was up by 24 per cent on the year before. Hotel and leisure starts were up by 18 per cent on 2023.
However, community and amenity and health sector starts were down by 44 per cent and 30 per cent respectively on the previous three months. Industrial project starts also dwindled, down by more than a third (34 per cent) from a year ago.
Infrastructure projects rose by nearly a half (45 per cent) on the previous year, and 21 per cent against the preceding three months. The performance of the civils sector was dampened by a falling number of utility-project starts, down 8 per cent on the previous three months and 16 per cent on the prior year.
Glenigan economics director Allan Wilen said the spike in private housing starts was a positive barometer of investor confidence and consumer appetite, although he warned that the civils uptick was likely to be short-lived, in light of the government’s announcement this week to shelve road and rail projects.
He added that the subdued performance of non-residential and social housing projects was unsurprising, as the general election and the new government’s decision to review capital programmes disrupted ongoing plans.
He said: “The industry should be buoyed by these results – a clear sign confidence is starting to return to the market.”
View the latest Glenigan data on project starts by region and sector here.
