Let's look at the PropTech Trends for 2025. For 2024, we predicted a year of instability, and it was essentially that. 2024 in the UK saw the election, which stalled much of the progress in housing for a while. With the eventful years of the Conservative government in its various forms on the way out, a landslide election of Labour in the UK promised potentially greater stability and clarity regarding opportunities for town planning and construction in the UK.

For many town planners, 2024 did not see the recovery in the broader sector economy we hoped for. In part, affordable housing funds dried up, and increased expenses for retrofit requirements put the housing association sector under severe financial pressure. In the private sector, continued pressure on land, viability, and economic headwinds contributed to further consolidation, with companies like Redrow and Barratt joining forces.

What might 2025 bring regarding major industry trends, and what does it mean for digital and proptech in town planning? Join us as we pinpoint key developments and trends in 2025.

Industry trends influencing change in 2025

Continued recovery in housing markets

The economy will continue to recover slowly in 2025. House price levels have been remarkably resilient, contributing to confidence in housing. In addition, the new UK government has made house building one of its key priority areas, emphasising scaling development while trying to retain quality. There is talk about developing the grey belt to unlock new opportunities. Design codes will remain meaningful despite the Office for Place being scrapped as a separate organisation and its functions rolled back into DLUC.

Continued emphasis on place-based impact of construction

In 2025, the conversation on ‘social value’ will remain essential and grow in sophistication. The social value of construction has often been a buzzword with unclear direction as more and more people speak about local or place-based impacts. Throughout 2024, in the UK, Homes England  made substantial investments and efforts to define the local value of residential and mixed-use development in local places. This work will continue to shape conversations around development, public consultation, and health. More than ever, those discussions will be linked to data and evidence, which is increasingly abundant in the planning ecosystem. See, for example, the Times' recent article on the best places to live according to data.  

Continued rise of intelligent automation 

Throughout 2024, we saw the continued development of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT. These models and associated artificial intelligence-type work will continue to gain sophistication in 2025. Most companies are now using AI-based systems. Capabilities are included in existing software and services or adapted to custom applications for town planning use. This will lead to more intelligent automation in companies of standard analysis tasks or workflows. Again, this connects to trends surrounding the lack of capacity in the town planning system, the continued rise in the complexity of town planning work, and an increasing emphasis on place-based analytics alongside expert opinion.  

Predictions for the new year: Proptech trends shaping town planning in 2025

Expanding Horizons in Digital Planning

The trajectory of digital planning tools continues to rise, with technologies and apps becoming more sophisticated, widespread, and specialised for town planning. In the UK, DLUC is working on moving from the public sector to applications encompassing the private sector in areas such as site selection, community engagement, and health impact. Software for digital town planning and urban design will become more readily accessible through the launch of marketplaces such as the Digital Planning Directory and the ADDD.io marketplace. 

Linked Data and Smart Urban Systems

We will see more data federation from organisations in similar areas. For example, in the North East under the banner of “SHINE” housing associations like Karbon Homes, Thirteen, believe housing have started combining their housing stock information in a shared map to coordinate retrofit and local estate improvement work better. Information is then enriched with open governmental data on social demographics, deprivation and other attributes for better resource coordination. On a national level, we will see continued adoption of the National Planning Data Hub. Linked data enables real-time updates on planning constraints and infrastructure capacity, significantly enhancing decision-making and reducing project risks. These advancements support the broader adoption of “smart cities” frameworks.

Adoption of geospatial technology in town planning firms

Linked spatial data and more automatic and time-saving analytics tools will become more central to overcome resource constraints in the town planning system. A renewed drive will enable non-technical planners to access spatial applications. Some town planning firms may adopt or upgrade subscriptions to generic GIS solutions like ArcGIS, while others may explore more dedicated, town planning-focused platforms for specific problem areas, such as PlaceChangers Place Analytics for Health Impact Reviews or Place Informatics for Footfall data. See our article on digital planning tools here. 

AI adoption in town planning

AI is central to reshaping property planning. Planners can leverage AI-powered tools for real-time feedback summaries, scenario modelling, and community sentiment analysis. Chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are integrated into planning consultations and provide instant responses to residents' inquiries, enhancing public engagement. The recent shift to integrating AI and machine learning into urban planning platforms, combined with spatial data, will unlock new possibilities for predictive modelling, automated document creation, and stakeholder involvement.

Climate Resilience and Sustainability as a Focal Point

The urgency of addressing climate change continues to influence urban planning. Planners are focusing on creating resilient, low-carbon communities. From heat-mapping tools to sustainable building practices using timber and recycled materials, the emphasis on achieving net-zero goals has intensified. "Zero-bill housing models have also gained traction, promoting energy-efficient retrofitting and sustainable construction.

Advanced Community Engagement Tools

Community consultations are evolving beyond static surveys and public meetings. 3D digital models, immersive virtual reality environments, and interactive digital twins allow communities to better visualise and influence urban developments. PlaceChangers’ innovations in 3D mapping tools are at the forefront of this shift, driving greater transparency and inclusion. We may also see more focus on visually rich content and VR, but costs and practicalities will likely remain high making this less likely to be used in mass audience context. 

Impact-Driven Planning Metrics

Incorporating metrics like social value and health impacts into planning processes has become a priority. For instance, organisations like Homes England are trialling a standard set of place-based indicators to enhance approach to community consultation and local needs. Tools like PlaceChangers' Site Insights provide easy access to data on health, walkability, and infrastructure capacity, empowering developers to create well-informed, community-centric projects.

Looking Ahead

2025 will be another exciting year for PropTech. PropTech in 2025 is about technological advancement and fostering inclusive, sustainable, resilient communities. From AI integration to climate-resilient urban systems, the industry is poised to redefine how we design and live in our spaces. The change will never be as substantial as we imagine in construction, but digital transformation will progress gradually. Twenty Twenty Thrive is the new mantra for many organisations in the property sector.