Construction workloads in Wales fell through the final quarter of 2025, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Monitor, but surveyors are optimistic that workloads will pick up over the next year.
A net balance of -13% of survey respondents in Wales reported a fall in overall construction activity in Q4, which is the lowest this balance has been in two years, and the second consecutive quarter this balance has been in negative territory.
All subsectors saw declines in activity: private housing (a net balance of -8%), other public works (a net balance of -8%), private commercial (a net balance of -17%), infrastructure (a net balance of -22%) and private industrial (a net balance of -39%). Public housing activity fell into negative territory for the first time in two years with a net balance of -13% reporting a decline.
But in saying this, surveyors in Wales expect workloads to rise over the next year with a net balance of 9% anticipating an increase, which is up from the 3% seen in the survey previous.
Despite an expected increase in workloads, surveyors in Wales expect that profit margins will fall over the next 12-months. A net balance of -34% of Welsh respondents anticipate that profit margins will be squeezed over the next year, which is lower than the net balance of -26% that was seen in Q3.
Welsh surveyors also continue to report shortages in skilled workers, though less so than seen previously. 32% note a shortfall in other construction professionals, down from 41% seen in the quarter previous and 45% report a deficit in bricklayers, down from the 50% seen in Q3. 46% report a shortage in quantity surveyors.
Jodie O’Connor of Penfro Consultancy Limited commented: “Strengthening local capacity through investment and in-country upskilling is essential if Wales is to overcome labour and professional services shortages. This is necessary to deliver sustainable development, creating a more resilient sector across Wales, including through rural communities.”
Tim Davies of T R Davies Ltd Chartered Surveyors and Valuers added: “Planning is a big issue in terms of constraints on development. Lending is equally problematic.”
Commenting on the UK picture, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “The latest results provide little sign of a broad-based uplift in activity in the construction industry with respondents continuing to draw attention to challenges around planning and the building safety regime in particular, as well as viability related issues. The forward-looking metrics are a little more positive with workloads seen as likely to accelerate most notably in infrastructure driven by a pronounced increase in activity in the energy generation and distribution area as well as water. However, any pick-up in housing development is likely to be relatively modest and way short of what would be required to get anywhere near approaching the 1.5 million home target. While the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is seen as helpful for housebuilders, on its own it is not going to be sufficient to meaningfully move the dial.”
