NEW research has revealed overall construction activity in Scotland was relatively subdued through the final quarter of 2025, but sector stakeholders are more optimistic about the year ahead.
The findings appear in the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Monitor.
A net balance of -4% of survey respondents reported a fall in construction workloads in Scotland in Q4 2025, down marginally from Q3.
Looking at the subsectors, a net balance noted falls in activity in both private housing (-9%) and private commercial (-10%) whilst activity in public housing, private industrials and other public works were seen to be broadly flat. Infrastructure workloads continued to rise, with a net balance of 16% of respondents reporting an increase.
A net balance of 24% of Scottish respondents expects overall workloads to rise over the next year, which is up from the 12% that was seen in Q3 and the highest this balance has been in over a year.
However, it appears Scottish surveyors are cautious about the outlook for profit margins. A net balance of -6% of respondents anticipate profit margins will fall over the next year, though this is an improvement from the -10% reported in Q3.
Surveyors in Scotland continue to report skills shortages, albeit at a less severe rate than seen previously. 58% noted a shortage of quantity surveyors, 37% reported a shortage of bricklayers, and 33% highlighted a shortage of other construction professionals.
Chris Marshall of Lundin Homes Ltd said, “We are still experiencing major shortages in all sub-contractor trades resulting in higher costs to build new homes.”
Steven Hyde of D Blake & Co Ltd added, “Having previously said that recruitment and retention of trainee and skilled labour was the main issue we faced, we are now experiencing a drop in workloads and a reduced number of new tender enquiries.”
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.”
