Heavy rainfall and strong winds blamed for drop off in October
Private housebuilding output fell by 5.2% in October month-on-month, the highest drop out of nine sectors measured by the Office for National Statistics.
The fall in output for new private homes was offset slightly by a 1.3% increase in output for new public homes, while total repairs and maintenance housing output increased by 1.4%, including a 2.2% rise in output for public housing repairs and maintenance.
The housebuilding fall contributed to overall construction output dropping 0.5% in October to a monthly value of £15,485m, following a 0.4% increase in September.
The ONS said heavy rainfall and strong winds in October contributed to a 1.7% fall in new construction work for the three months to the end of October, according to the latest official figures. This included a 5.2% drop off in new private housing work.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it had received a high number of comments from construction firms blaming storms in the month for delaying planned work.
>>See also: UK housebuilding recession: How much worse is it going to get?
The data comes alongside a broader update from the ONS showing the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in October, more than the expected 0.1% contraction.
The month’s poor weather also hit other sectors, with both retail and tourism affected by Storm Babet, while the services and manufacturing sectors saw output fall.
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