Crowe’s Property and Construction Outlook Report 2018, which asks property developers and investors across the country for their views on the state of the market in 2018 and outlook for the future, reveals that UK businesses are increasingly concerned about the impact the current political and economic uncertainty will have on the industry.

With daily headlines and speculation about the country’s preferred vision, it comes as no surprise that Brexit negotiations and the ultimate shape of the UK’s departure from the European Union is now the greatest concern to the industry.

With Brexit potentially impacting upon the British property market, and its subsequent attractiveness to foreign investors, 44% of respondents would prefer a soft Brexit, with 37% preferring no Brexit at all.

Meanwhile, for the fifth consecutive year, respondents highlighted the current UK tax system as unfavourable for developers and investors, with more than 82% identifying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) as the biggest tax barrier to business growth. In addition, 77% of respondents highlighted that the Green Belt protections were not conducive to solving the housing crisis.

Respondents also identified retail (39%) and office space (29%) as the two property types most likely to be impacted by advancing technological trends and cited Modern Methods of Construction as the next big thing to impact the sector, followed by AI (18%) and Big Data (13%).