House building continues to pick-up across the West Midlands with the construction sector workloads rising at their highest since 2004, according to a new survey.
Chartered surveyors across the region have reported growth in the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) construction market survey.
Some 49 per cent more respondents saw rises in privately-funded housing projects in the third quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter.
Furthermore, the overall construction sector in the West Midlands saw a welcome boost during the three months to September, with workloads rising at their strongest rate since the second quarter of 2004.
But Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, warned that skill shortages could hit any future recovery in the construction sector. He also warned that house building was still a long way from the required level to meet the UK’s need.
He said: “Critically, we’re still way behind in terms of building enough homes to meet the nation’s growing housing need and overall construction projects are at a historical low.
"In the face of this challenge, it is a particularly concerning that we are already receiving reports of some skill shortages as well as capacity constraints for some building materials such as bricks.”
Surveyors in the West Midlands expect a sharp acceleration in business activity over the next 12 months, with 75 per cent of respondents expecting the volume of work to increase further next year.
