Confidence Returns to UK Real Estate, But Key Challenges Remain
The UK real estate and infrastructure sector is showing a strong rebound in confidence, according to the 2025 UKREiiF Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey. Drawing on responses from over 10,800 professionals attending the UKREiiF conference in Leeds, the survey reveals that positive sentiment has risen sharply from 52% in 2024 to 70% in 2025, while negative sentiment has dropped to just 6%.
The optimism is widespread, with every UK region including London, Scotland, the South West, and Wales reporting gains of at least 17 percentage points. Confidence has also increased across all professional groups, with developers, consultants, investors, contractors, occupiers, and public sector bodies all expressing greater positivity about the year ahead.
However, the report also highlights that significant structural challenges remain, particularly within the UK’s planning system. Over half of developers and more than a third of consultants named planning delays and inefficiencies as a top concern. The issue was echoed in a keynote speech by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who called for urgent reform of local planning committees and strategic planning processes.
Beyond planning, the survey identified five core challenges affecting the industry: geopolitical instability (48%), inflation and rising costs (41%), the planning system (35%), political uncertainty (33%), and finance access (30%). Different sectors face different pressures with developers most affected by planning, investors and public bodies by geopolitical risks, and contractors by political uncertainty.
Despite these obstacles, the overall sentiment is that the industry is eager to move forward. The survey reflects a sector at a pivotal moment: armed with growing confidence and investment appetite, but still constrained by policy bottlenecks. As UKREiiF leaders emphasized, turning optimism into real progress will require collaborative action and targeted reform especially in planning.
