According to the construction cost management firm, Davis Langdon PKS, there will be 75,000 to 80,000 new house completions this year, down from the 93,000 peak in 2006.
The firm's 2007 summer review of the construction Industry, says this will be the first fall in new housing output since the current growth pattern commenced in 1989.
Norman Craig, MD said civil engineering, supported by the major investment in roads under the National Development Plan, will grow 6% and general construction will increase 3%.
'However, the growth in general construction and civil engineering will not be enough to compensate for the reduction in new housing, so we expect a 5% reduction in the volume of new construction in 2007,' he said.
