RAPID growth in the region's construction industry has been boosted by a strong housing market and buoyant commercial property market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The organisation's latest market survey for the South East showed that total workloads increased in the first three months of this year at their fastest pace in the survey's history.

RICS says this was driven primarily by a sharp growth in private commercial workloads, which more than doubled.

Trevor Hines, RICS director in the South East, said: "The immediate outlook for the construction industry is sound, as a healthy economy continues to boost workloads.

"The unsteadiness in equity markets recently has not shaken firms' confidence and has had little impact on commercial growth.

"Construction projects in the private commercial sector are leading the way with, schools, hospitals, and offices hotbed areas of activity."