Glenigan says new starts have edged up in past three months with residentail heading the turnaround

A growth in new housing starts has fuelled hopes that a recovery in construction is increasing in momentum, a new report has said.

Data specialist Glenigan said starts in residential were up 12% in the three months to the end of July from the previous quarter while civils work was up 9% during the same period.

Work on site start edged up 2% during the period although non-residential starts fell 10%.

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Starts on site have edged up, Glenigan said, with fresh data adding to hopes that a fledgling recovery is gaining momentum

Glenigan added that regions including the East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber and Scotland had also seen a growing number of starts during the same period.

Glenigan economics director Allan Wilen said: 鈥淎 clear sign confidence is starting to return to the market. This is evidenced by the spike in private housing starts, a longstanding barometer of investor conviction and consumer appetite.

鈥淒evelopers will no doubt see plenty of opportunity as this vertical continues to thaw over the next six months, hopefully having a positive, knock-on effect for other, associated built environment assets.鈥�

Other recent data has also pointed to an improving trend for construction with the Office for National Statistics saying output grew 1.9% in May from the previous month鈥檚 fall of 1.4% while the S&P Global UK construction Purchasing Managers鈥� Index stood at 52.2 in June 鈥� the fourth consecutive month of growth.