According to the latest official Government figures for the third quarter private house building work was worth £5.27bn in the third quarter.

This edged it ahead of commercial new building activity which was valued at £5.24bn.

Upward pressure on the quarter and on the month of September came from new housing (up 18% against Q2), which reached its highest monthly level since the series of data began in 2010.

At the same time commercial building output (down 6.2% against Q2) has been broadly sliding in 2014 despite signs of a recovery gaining pace in London.

In September 2014, output in the construction industry as a whole was estimated to have increased by 1.8% compared with August 2014, following a fall of 3% in August and an increase of 2% in July.

In the three months to September construction output grew by 0.8% compared with the second quarter. Third quarter output was also up 2.9% year on year, with new work output alone up 3.7%.

Stefan Friedhoff, Global Corporates managing director for construction at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Although the industry will be relieved to see a recorded increase in output for September – particularly following the shock drop in August – the noises currently surrounding the sector are disconcerting.

“The majority of contractors continue to operate in a challenging, competitive environment and face a steady stream of disruption arising from an ongoing shortage of labour and supplies, reflected in PMI data earlier in the month.”