Quantity surveyors believe the shortages of building materials blighting the construction industry is beginning to ease off.
The latest quarterly construction workload survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors finds that they are busier than ever but problems sourcing materials and lengthy lead times experienced over the past year or so.
While 40% of respondents reported that their projects were still constrained by shortages of materials, this is an improvement on the 60% who were having such difficulties throughout most of 2014.
The continuing upturn in workloads has led to a less competitive tendering environment, RICS members said, particularly across public sector projects. However a lack of accessible finance is now a growing issue. And while concern over labour shortages dipped slightly, the demand for cost and project management skills rose.
Planning and regulation also remain key restraints to growth, with concerns about backlogs in local authority planning departments.