In a survey of 550 UK property developers, 61% of respondents said they expect the residential property market to improve in 2025 with 18% anticipating significant improvement.

The government’s focus on the housing shortage, with a pledge to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next few years, was highlighted as the key driver for this.

Over a quarter (28%) of developers said this would help drive market improvements with an additional 28% reported as being encouraged by planning reforms.

The survey found signs of this work already having positive impacts for developers’ workloads, with 26% reporting an uptick in viewings and interest in properties.

In addition to a focus on planning delays and accelerating housing delivery, the government’s stated ambition to reform mortgages for first-time buyers was also identified as a positive.

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Over a quarter (27%) of developers said they expect this to boost demand for properties, with 21% also feeling that financial pressures had started to ease.

In terms of those who are most confident about the outlook for the residential market were those developers who focus on new builds and property conversions.

Of this cohort, 85% said they felt confident about the market.

“Despite wider economic uncertainty, it's encouraging that within the residential property market there are green shoots of optimism,” said Terry Woodley, managing director of development finance at Shawbrook.

“While the impact of the stamp duty relief ending has been the main story for the market in the first quarter of the year, developers will be hopeful that the measures announced in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will continue to fuel activity across the rest of the year.

“However, with some of these measures likely to take time to come to fruition, developers will likely still be looking to the government to deliver further effective reform that can boost activity now.”