No pickup in construction sector

IRELAND’s depleted construction sector is unlikely to see any kind of recovery until the second half of next year, at the earliest, according to one prominent economist, but the fall in the overall economy shouldn’t be as pronounced as previously anticipated.

In his latest quarterly economic outlook report, Alan McQuaid – chief economist with Bloxham Stockbrokers – said that house completion levels are likely to fall by nearly 60% this year while house prices will probably decline by another 10%-15%.

“It is difficult to call the timing of the next recovery phase in the building sector, but a key prerequisite condition will be evidence that house prices have bottomed out.