RICS Construction Monitor Q2 2025 – Northern Ireland

• Overall construction workloads fell for fourth consecutive quarter
• Private housing is the only subsector to see increase in construction activity
• Surveyors anticipate workloads will increase over the next year, albeit they are less confident than before

Private house building was the only part of Northern Ireland’s construction market to see an uptick in activity in the last quarter, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) construction monitor.

Overall, a net balance of -8% of NI surveyors reported a fall in construction workloads in Q2, down from the -4% seen in Q1.

Looking at the subsectors, private housing saw a rise in construction activity, with a net balance of 10% of respondents reporting an increase.

Surveyors report that workloads in public housing (a net balance of -25%), private commercial (a net balance of -16%), private industrials (a net balances of -5%) and other public works (a net balance of -14%) all declined.

Workloads in infrastructure were reported to have fallen flat, having been positive in the previous quarter.

Looking ahead, Northern Ireland respondents expect workloads to rise over the next year, however they are less positive than they were. A net balance of 8% of NI surveyors expect a rise in the 12 months ahead, lower than the 25% seen in Q1.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, NI respondents are less optimistic on the outlook for profit margins. Surveyors in NI anticipate that profit margins will fall over the next year, with a net balance of -16% expecting them to be squeezed over the next 12-months. This is the lowest balance seen when across the UK regions.

Surveyors in NI also continue to report shortages in skills. 52% of respondents reported a lack of quantity surveyors and 33% note a shortage in other construction professional. These are broadly in line with the previous quarter. However, the lack of bricklayers appears to have worsened with 44% of NI respondents reporting a shortage, up from the 38% seen in the quarter previous.

Jim Sammon, RICS NI Construction Spokesman, said: “The construction market in Northern Ireland continued to face challenges through the second quarter of the year, with overall workloads edging lower and most subsectors experiencing less activity. It is though encouraging to see an uplift in private housing activity in this survey, alongside NHBC’s most recent quarterly report which also shows a rise in the number of new homes registered in Northern Ireland. Some of the constraints on private housing development appear to be easing. However, it is important to note that even with an uplift in activity, we are still some way off building enough homes to meet housing need.

“Public sector work plays a huge role in NI’s construction industry, and anecdotally we’re seeing surveyors reporting that a lack of government investment is a big factor impacting on workloads, mixed with other challenges such as planning delays, the increased cost of raw materials and a lack of wastewater infrastructure. Looking ahead, whilst surveyors appear to be optimistic that workloads will rise over the year, there are reasons to be cautious.”

Commenting on the UK picture, RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: “The underlying tone in the construction sector remains subdued according to the latest feedback from RICS members. There is a little more positivity looking forward but the indicators, at this point, are consistent with a modest rather than material uplift in development.

“Given that planning continues to be viewed as the major factor hindering the industry from upscaling its building programme, it is quite conceivable that the passing of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will in due course see industry expectations move onto a firmer footing. That said, the need to ensure the building safety regime works more smoothly is also highlighted quite widely in the survey as a factor that would likely impact the pace of development.

“The other big challenge remains around skills. While typically much of the conversation is focused of shortages of trades such as bricklayers and plumbers, the RICS survey highlights recruitment issues amongst professionals involved in the construction industry with building control surveyors and quantity surveyors in short supply.”