UK housebuilding has fallen at the steepest rate in more than a decade – outside of the pandemic years – as high borrowing costs impact demand, according to a closely watched survey.
The June downturn in housebuilding was “steep and accelerated”, according to the S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI).
Residential construction decreased at the fastest pace since March 2020, when the country entered COVID-19 lockdown for the first time.
When the lockdown drop is excluded, last month saw the fastest fall since April 2009, when the economy reeled from the global financial crash.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said higher mortgage rates have “triggered a plunge in housebuilding”.
He added: “June’s construction PMI suggests that interest rates now have risen far enough to push the sector into a renewed downturn.”
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Source: news.sky.com
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