Activity in Northern Ireland’s construction sector has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to a report from the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).

Its Construction Monitor for the second quarter of 2025 reported a subdued mood amongst builders with workloads in public housing, private commercial, private industrial and other public works all declining.

The report, which takes the mood of surveyors, found workloads in infrastructure fell flat while private housing was the only subsector to report an increase in workload.

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Also adding some level of positivity is the fact surveyors expect workloads to increase over the next year, although that figure has eased since the last quarterly report.

“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,” Jim Sammon, RICS NI Construction Spokesman, said. “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.”

From a UK perspective, RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said the tone in the construction sector remains subdued.

“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,” he said.

“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.”