Spending on private housing repair and maintenance fell by 7.5 percent in the three months to April, compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Construction output fell 4.7 percent in the same period, dragged down by sharp falls in public sector and commercial work.
Graham Robinson, global business consultant at Pinsent Masons, said: “Apart from the government’s housing stimulus, the beleaguered construction sector is still very depressed and continues to tread on thin ice. Although we expect construction to grow from the end of 2013, it will be from a deeper-than-expected trough that will have significantly damaged the industry in the longer term.”
David Crosthwaite, an economist with AECOM, said the figures were “disappointing” and highlighted the “almost inexorable decline of construction output”.
