The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has provided an update on its ongoing review of consultation feedback on the second edition of the Home Survey Standard, stating that responses were highly detailed and multifaceted, adding to the complexity of the process. It said it has been working through the early sections of the draft standard with its Expert Group (EG), which has held additional meetings, and has welcomed Giles Smith of SDL following Robert Mead’s retirement. RICS added that an updated publication timeline will be shared as the draft progresses and confirmed it is engaging with the UK Government on proposed changes to the home buying and selling process in England and Wales.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its 2024 digitalisation in construction report, outlining progress and persistent challenges. Although the report notes a modest increase in the usage of digital tools on some projects, an increasing proportion of projects continue to refrain from utilising these technologies. It further indicates renewed confidence in the benefits of digitalisation but identifies persistent barriers, including cost concerns, digital skills shortages, and collaboration issues.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its AI in Construction 2025 report, drawing on responses from over 2,200 professionals worldwide. The findings reveal that 45% of organisations are not using AI, while only 1% have scaled it across projects. Despite low adoption, 70% of project managers and quantity surveyors expect AI to deliver greater value. The report highlights concerns about a growing gap between AI investment ambitions and organisational readiness in the construction sector, with a quarter of firms planning to increase AI spending in the next 12 months despite widespread skills shortages. While optimism remains high about AI’s potential in scheduling, risk management and cost control, key barriers to adoption include a lack of skilled personnel (46%), system integration challenges (37%) and poor data quality (30%). RICS is calling for collaboration between industry, government and professional bodies to develop implementation roadmaps and upskilling initiatives.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published a paper by the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), Inflation Adjustment Clauses, which provides guidance on the application of indexed linked inflation clauses. BCIS’s paper follows the warning by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) regarding volatility in the availability and pricing of labour and materials.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published a FAQs article addressing common questions and concerns about proposed updates to its Home survey standard, which is currently open for consultation until 14 October 2025. The FAQs cover topics such as: (1) the role of the Expert Group in developing the updated standard; (2) how the revisions reflect consumer insights from a Savanta survey of approximately 1,400 people who purchased homes or commissioned surveys within the past five years; (3) how the levels of service have been clarified; and (4) how the updated standard provides guidance on service checks. The updated standard enhances the three service levels, now described as 'basic', 'intermediate' and 'advanced' to improve consumer understanding, with expanded guidance on service checks during inspections. The article also explains that Appendix A provides a clearer distinction between inspection levels to ensure consistent service delivery, regardless of the inspecting surveyor, locality or regulated firm. RICS further notes that answers to technical questions from a webinar held on 26 September 2025 will be shared via email with registered participants.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its Scotland Manifesto setting out policy priorities for the next Scottish Government, launched ahead of the Scottish Budget on 12 January 2026. The manifesto recommends introducing fully funded apprenticeships for all SME-employed apprentices under the age of 25, aligning Scotland with existing UK commitments. RICS calls for an urgent review of building surveying and commercial valuation course provision across Scotland and reform of higher education funding to reflect Scotland's economic needs. The manifesto recommends establishing a Ministerial Oversight Group on retrofit and introducing legislation to measure and report embodied carbon in line with RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment Standard. To support housing delivery, RICS recommends creating a Housing Land Agency, introducing a presumption in favour of modern methods of construction for social housing, and ensuring all local development plans are up to date. The recommendations address workforce capacity issues, with Skills Development Scotland estimating the construction sector will require at least 10,000 additional jobs by 2028.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its September 2024 Residential Survey, indicating continued growth in the UK housing market. The survey revealed increases in demand, sales, and new listings, with sentiment related to overall national house price growth turning positive for the first time since October 2022.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its Sustainability Report 2025, examining market sentiment from over 3,500 global professionals across commercial real estate and construction sectors. The report shows the RICS Sustainable Building Index declined to +30 in 2025 from +41 in 2024, indicating slowing demand growth for green buildings, particularly across the Americas where the index fell to +11. The study found 46% of construction professionals do not measure carbon emissions across projects, representing an increase from 34% in 2024. High initial costs, lack of return on investment evidence, and insufficient investor awareness remain the principal barriers to sustainable building investment. The report recommends government policy measures including mandatory carbon assessment reporting, performance thresholds for emissions, and enhanced building regulations aligned to national decarbonisation pathways. RICS emphasises that measuring and reporting whole life carbon emissions must become standard practice, supported by its professional standard for whole life carbon assessment and the International Cost Management Standard framework.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its latest UK Construction Monitor for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 which demonstrates improved market trends, supported by an overall improved economy. The monitor shows that infrastructure remains the strongest performing sub sector with +17% of respondents reporting a rise in workloads. Workload expectations across the sector picked up in Q1, with a net balance of +24% anticipating a positive trend in total construction activity over the next year. Private residential workloads are expected to recover over the coming twelve months and the private commercial sector is expected to see a positive shift in expectations.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its latest UK Construction Monitor for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, which demonstrates improved market trends, supported by an overall improved economy. The monitor shows that infrastructure remains the strongest sector, with a net balance of +13. Workloads remain unchanged from Q1 although increased activity is expected in the coming months, with a net balance of +25 expected over the next year.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its latest UK Construction Monitor for the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, highlighting a more positive outlook for the construction sector as it approaches 2025.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published an article on the challenges facing the real estate industry and how AI, data and technology can help to address them. A central issue is ESG, with the built environment contributing almost 40% of global energy-related emissions and over 70% of European properties are not considered to be energy efficient. More than 35 million buildings will need renovation by 2030. Contributing factors hindering progress include a constantly changing regulatory context, the unique condition of each building, the reliance on outdated tools like Excel, fragmented data management and the slow adoption of AI and technology. RICS highlights that 50% of companies still use Excel as the primary planning tool, and that renovation planning is done via manual inspections. Only 13% of companies have real-time data access. RICS points out that there is a mistaken view that energy renovations are often not profitable and that solutions are available, but their implementation will require a clear strategy and a willingness to use and invest in new technologies.