The UK real estate market is experiencing a significant turnaround in sentiment, with new data revealing the strongest positive outlook in years. For property investors, this shift signals potential opportunities ahead as industry confidence increases substantially.
A clear shift in market confidence
The latest Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey 2025, conducted by UKREiiF in partnership with Holistic Insight, presents some notable findings. This comprehensive study, engaging over 10,800 property professionals across the UK, shows a changed market outlook:
Positive sentiment has surged from 52% to 70% – an impressive 18 percentage point increase
year-on-year. Even more telling, negative sentiment has plummeted from 17% to just 6%, while neutral positions have also declined, indicating professionals are taking clearer, more optimistic stances.
Optimism across all regions
What's particularly encouraging is that every UK region has recorded significant increases in positive sentiment. Scotland leads the charge with a 20 percentage point boost, followed closely by the South West, South East, and Wales. Even traditionally cautious London has seen marked improvement.
This isn't isolated optimism – it's a nationwide trend spanning all corners of the UK property market.
Industry leaders driving confidence
The sentiment shift is particularly pronounced among key market players:
-
Developers: 18 percentage point increase in confidence
-
Investors and funders: 16 percentage point uplift
-
Public sector: 16 percentage point rise
-
Contractors: 14 percentage point improvement
When the professionals closest to deal-making and development activity express such increased confidence, it typically signals genuine market momentum.
Navigating the challenges
While optimism prevails, market challenges are still present. The survey identifies key areas requiring attention:
-
Geopolitical instability (48% of respondents)
-
Inflation and increasing costs (41%)
-
UK planning system (35%)
-
UK political landscape (33%)
-
Cost and availability of finance (30%)
These challenges, while significant, will also present opportunities. If inflation can be kept under control, if planning reform is pushed through and the political landscape remains stable, the hope is that finance will continue to flow into the sector, fuelling long term growth.
What this means for property investment
This surge in confidence suggests several potential developments:
-
Increased development activity as confidence translates into new projects
-
Greater investment appetite from both domestic and international players
-
Improved market liquidity as sentiment drives transaction volumes
-
Stabilising valuations as market participants gain clarity on direction
The bottom line
The UK real estate market is experiencing its most positive sentiment shift in recent memory. With 70% of industry professionals now expressing optimism about the year ahead, and negative sentiment at historic lows, the foundations appear set for a more active and confident market.
For property investors, this represents both opportunity and the importance of strategic positioning. As always, successful investment requires balancing optimism with careful analysis of local markets, asset types, and individual opportunities.
At Shojin, we continue to monitor market sentiment closely as part of our investment strategy, ensuring our investors benefit from both market opportunities and our rigorous due diligence processes. Events like UKREiiF 2025 in Leeds provide the industry with crucial insights into current market dynamics and reinforce the strategic opportunities emerging across the UK property landscape.
Source: Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey 2025, UKREiiF in partnership with Holistic Insight. Survey of 10,874 UK real estate professionals conducted March-May 2025.
