The West Midlands construction outlook remains positive with two successive quarters of rising workloads, according to a new survey.
In the first quarter of 2013, 26 per cent more surveyors across the region reported an increase in work driven by private commercial and housing development, according to the latest RICS Construction Market Survey.
And surveyors expect the positive trend to continue with 20 per cent more respondents predicting an increase in work over the coming twelve months.
It would appear that at long last a little bit of confidence is returning to the industry, RICS said.
Adrian Aston, director at property and construction consultantcy Wakemans, said: “We have experienced more optimism in the market place over the last few months, although activity is restricted to certain sectors.
“The hotel and leisure sectors are still strong as is food retail.
“Housing has been given a boost with the promise of more help to come from the Government and encouraging signs that the mortgage market is improving.
“There is evidence that commercial activity may be stirring with one or two schemes that have been shelved starting to come back to life.”
The increase in construction projects and the expectation of further gains resulted in a rise in job expectations.
Twenty three per cent more chartered surveyors anticipate employment levels rising over the course of the year while profit levels are also on a positive trend.
Meanwhile, the average number of chartered surveyors who saw workloads rise across the country is higher than at any time since the end of 2007.
