Key Statistics: 9th July 2013

Construction

• House prices rose by 2.1% during the second quarter of 2013 and were 3.7% up on a year earlier, according to the Halifax house price index. This was the biggest increase in this annual measure since August 2010 (4.6%).
• Sales of construction products recovered slightly during the second quarter of 2013 according to the Construction Products Association’s latest State of Trade Survey. This recovery was driven principally by exports and a ‘bounce’ following a Q1 slump which had been exacerbated by poor weather.

Economy

• The profitability of UK companies edged up during the first quarter of 2013, according to the ONS. The net rate of return of private non-financial corporations is estimated at 12.0% during the quarter, slightly higher than the typical level experienced in the last four years. The improvement was driven by rising service sector profitability, where the average net rate of return climbed to 15.1% compared to 14.6% during the previous three months. In contrast manufacturers’ profitability slipped from 10% to 8.9% over the same period.
• New car registrations during the first half of 2013 were 10% up on the same period of last year. Private, fleet and business sectors all grew from January to June, but private demand increased the most over the first half of the year, up 17.1%, after a 21.3% rise in June. The rise in private demand is an indication of improving consumer confidence and bodes well for consumer related areas of construction activity such as private home improvements.
• The Bank of England MPC voted to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £375 billion. The Bank’s new Governor, Mark Carney, also commented that an early rise in the bank rate was unlikely.