For the second consecutive quarter, Scotland has seen the fastest expansion in workloads of any region in the UK, according new research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

The Rics construction market survey suggests that workload growth in the private housing sector picked up sharply, in news that may be of interest to those seeking to purchase a new home in the central Scotland area.

Senior economist for Rics David Stubbs commented: "The cooling of the housing market, following the credit crunch and the Northern Rock turmoil has filtered down to the outlook for the construction market."

"Despite this, projects in the private industrial sector are leading the way this quarter," he added.

Mr Stubbs concluded by stating that the construction industry is "stable" and a slight downturn in confidence is to be expected, given the present economic situation.

The Rics construction market survey identifies trends in the sector, including housebuilding activity, publicly-funded building infrastructure projects and labour availability.