The latest Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index report shows that total sales of plumbing and heating retailers increased by 2.6% in April 2023.
April sales were 20.5% lower than March and volumes were down 19.1% while prices were down 1.7%.
However, total sales between February 2023 and April 2023 were 5.6% higher than in the same period last year. Volumes fell 2.1% while prices rose 8.2%.
The PHMI index for April was 92.1. compared to 105.7 last year.
Mike Rigby, CEO of MRA Research said: “April sales volumes fell 4.7% compared to April last year and 19.1% in March this year due to economic uncertainty, high inflation and rising interest rates continue to have an impact on the RMI for new build housing and private housing.” (repair, maintenance and improvement works), particularly in the private sector. It is worth remembering that according to the Construction Product Association, private new residential construction and the private residential RMI sector together account for about 40% of total construction output.
“There was good news for homeowners in April, a pause in the government’s planned energy price guarantee hike, but that will do little to ease the pain of those struggling with tracker mortgages and the cost of living falling fast exceed the revenue.”
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