Northern Ireland's construction sector remained the busiest in the UK during H2 2025, posting a net workload balance of +35%. However, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned of growing uncertainty as new enquiries "tumbled" from +64% in the first half of the year to just +12%—the steepest decline among the home nations.

While demand for house building and repair/maintenance remains firm, local SMEs are being squeezed by a combination of hiring crises, rising material costs, and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Skills and Labour Pressures

The survey highlights a worsening skills gap, with 72% of firms reporting a shortage of skilled tradespeople. This has led to project delays for 49% of builders and forced 22% to cancel projects entirely.

• Hardest roles to fill: Carpenters (30%), bricklayers (29%), and plumbers/HVAC (23%).

• Specialist gaps: Over half of firms struggled to find workers familiar with sustainable building practices (57%), new technologies (58%), or the current building safety regime (51%).

Financial Strain Rising overheads continue to impact viability, with 75% of firms reporting higher material costs and 57% facing wage increases. Consequently, 51% of builders reported lower-than-expected profits or losses, while 20% expressed fears over the ongoing viability of their business. Payment delays also persist, with only 57% of invoices being paid within agreed terms.

External factors, including extreme weather (40%) and planning delays (36%), have hampered progress. A significant concern remains the region's wastewater crisis, with over 100 areas unable to support new development connections.

FMB Northern Ireland Director, Gavin McGuire, commented: "It's encouraging to see Northern Ireland leading the UK with strong workloads in H2 2025. However, the sharp 52 percentage point drop in enquiries is deeply concerning. Members are battling a perfect storm of rising costs and economic uncertainty."

Addressing the infrastructure deficit, Mr McGuire added: "Over 100 areas in Northern Ireland cannot support new development connections due to wastewater capacity constraints. This is a crisis we've been warning about for years. The recently announced 'Developer Contributions' scheme risks becoming little more than an additional tax on construction... we need urgent, meaningful investment in water infrastructure."

Despite these headwinds, the industry remains cautiously optimistic. Nearly half (48%) of builders feel positive about the first six months of 2026, though 46% anticipate a negative impact following the Chancellor's recent Budget and changes to National Insurance contributions.