Housebuilding workload picture ‘marginally less negative’ than last quarter, RICS finds

Public and private housing both posted marginally improved results in the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Construction Monitor.

The body revealed that the series for both sectors revealed marginally less negative net balance readings in comparison to Q4 of 2024.

Public housing moved to -1% from -7% and private housing moved from -5% to -2%.

More widely, construction workloads remain stable with infrastructure expected to be the busiest sector in the year ahead. The overall headline net balance for workloads stood at -1%, mirroring the previous quarter’s reading.

Infrastructure posted a strong net balance of +13% and, within that, the energy sub-sector reported a net balance of +35%. 

The net balance for expectations for the next 12 months was positive (17%), with infrastructure poised to lead sector growth (32%).

Despite a steady outlook for workloads, 63% of surveyors reported financial challenges as the most significant barrier, followed by regulatory and planning issues. Some respondents also reported concerns about a “brain drain” to the Middle East and North America.

RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: “Construction activity was largely flat over the quarter with respondents expressing a little more caution in the face of the heightened level uncertainty both at a global and domestic level. 

“In particular, concerns about the implementation of tariffs and what this might mean for costs and economic activity as well as the potential impact of the uplift in employer NI contributions are highlighted in the feedback.”