If you’re involved in high-rise residential construction, the challenge at the moment isn’t a lack of information. It’s knowing which signals are worth paying attention to.
April wasn’t necessarily a month of major headlines, but it did give us a clearer sense of the direction the market is moving in. Across planning, construction starts, material costs, industrialised construction, viability and building safety, there were several developments that senior leaders should have on their radar.
This article brings together five things you may have missed in April, followed by three things to watch closely in May.
One of the more encouraging signals from April was that high-rise development appears to be picking up again.
This isn’t just based on anecdotal “green shoots”. We’re starting to see it in a few different places. Building Safety Regulator applications are being approved. Construction starts on site have shown an upward trend in recent Construction Products Association updates. There are also signs of more developments entering the planning system.
Taken individually, none of these points would be enough to call a broad market shift. But together, they suggest that confidence is beginning to return in parts of the high-rise residential sector.
It is still selective. The market is not suddenly back to where it was. But compared with the uncertainty and hesitation we’ve seen over the past 12 to 18 months, the signs are more positive.
For developers, contractors and the wider supply chain, the key point is that some schemes are starting to move again. The question is whether that momentum continues, and which types of projects are best placed to progress.
Another important theme from April was the return of volatility, particularly around material pricing.
Geopolitical uncertainty, including tensions around Iran, has contributed to movement in oil prices. That, in turn, is feeding into metal pricing, with some increases being felt quite significantly.
For high-rise residential projects, that matters because metal is present in so many key packages. It affects balcony systems, structural steel, façade components, secondary steelwork and many other areas of the build.
The bigger issue, though, is not just the cost movement itself. It is the risk created within the supply chain.
When prices rise quickly, margins can be squeezed, especially for SMEs and specialist subcontractors involved in metalwork or related packages. For contractors procuring these packages, financial resilience becomes an important consideration.
It is worth asking whether the people you are working with are financially sound, where the pricing exposure sits, and whether risks are being properly understood before they become project issues.
Material volatility is not simply a procurement problem. It can quickly become a delivery problem if it is not managed early.
Industrialised construction continued to move forward in April.
The annual industrialised construction conference again brought focus to the topic, but what was particularly interesting was the wider momentum forming around it. New associations are being created, with leadership coming from respected figures across Europe and Ireland.
That is important because it suggests industrialised construction is becoming more organised and more coordinated. It is no longer just a broad concept sitting under labels such as MMC, DfMA, prefab or offsite construction. It is increasingly becoming part of how the industry thinks about deliverability.
The reasons are fairly clear.
Industrialised construction can support programme certainty, improve quality control, reduce reliance on site labour and make complex projects more repeatable. In markets where cost, labour and regulatory pressures are all present, those benefits are becoming harder to ignore.
This does not mean every project will move to an industrialised model. But it does mean more teams are looking seriously at where repeatable, manufactured or pre-assembled elements can reduce risk and improve certainty.
For high-rise residential schemes, that could include façades, balconies, bathroom pods, service modules, panelised systems or other elements where offsite thinking can simplify what happens on site.
Viability continues to be a major topic across the key markets we operate in.
In the UK, the conversation is shaped by regulation, cost pressure and the challenge of getting projects through the system. In Ireland, there remains a difference between planning activity and what actually converts into starts on site. In North America, viability continues to be influenced by funding, housing demand, rental models and wider economic uncertainty.
What is interesting is how geopolitics and cost pressure may be changing behaviour. In some cases, developers may be looking to move more quickly, aiming to get schemes built out before pricing increases further. If that continues, it could support housing delivery in some areas.
At the same time, viability is not just about whether a project goes ahead. It is also about how the building is designed and delivered.
There is growing focus on rationalisation — simplifying the building, the façade, the interfaces and the detailing without losing the original aspirations for the scheme. That is where the supply chain has an important role to play.
Good rationalisation is not about reducing quality. It is about asking whether the same design intent can be achieved in a more buildable, repeatable and efficient way.
For project teams, that means earlier conversations with the right specialists can make a real difference. The earlier these discussions happen, the more opportunity there is to influence design, reduce unnecessary complexity and protect the viability of the scheme.
The final point from April is glass — particularly laminated glass.
This has already been a significant topic because of the consultation linked to Part B and the future role of laminated glass in relevant applications. But April brought even more attention to the subject.
An incident in Waterford, Ireland, has raised further industry interest. That incident is currently being investigated, and it relates to a legacy building. Sapphire is not part of that investigation and was not part of the original legacy building involved.
What made the timing particularly notable was that the incident happened on the same day the UK Construction Industry Task Force published a white paper on building safety.
That has brought fresh attention to the wider conversation around glass, balconies, material selection and how safety expectations are interpreted across different markets.
It is important not to jump to conclusions while investigations are ongoing. But it is equally important to recognise that glass specification is once again becoming a key industry discussion.
For those involved in residential high-rise, this is a topic worth following closely. It may influence future regulatory thinking, design decisions and the way project teams assess balcony and façade safety.
April gave us several useful signals. May should start to show how the industry responds to them.
UK Construction Week is likely to be an important moment for understanding how the industry is interpreting current requirements.
Discussions around Gateway processes, resident accountability, inclusive design and building safety are all expected to feature strongly. The focus is unlikely to be simply on what the rules say. The more important question is how consistently they are being applied.
For senior leaders, the useful signal will be whether the industry is moving towards greater alignment, or whether we continue to see a fragmented approach.
Geopolitical uncertainty is continuing to influence decision-making.
It affects oil prices, material costs, investment appetite and the confidence needed to move schemes forward. But the response will not be the same everywhere.
Some projects may be accelerated to secure pricing and delivery before conditions change again. Others may pause while the market settles.
That balance will be worth watching. The projects that move, and the ones that stall, will tell us a lot about where confidence really sits.
UKREiiF is one of the clearest moments in the year for testing market sentiment.
It is where conversations happen, partnerships form and future deals begin to take shape. It can also give a useful indication of whether confidence is genuinely returning or whether caution still sits behind the public messaging.
The key thing to watch is not just what people say. It is what they commit to.
If April gave us early signals, UKREiiF should help show whether those signals are translating into action.
April did not dramatically change the market, but it did reinforce several important themes.
High-rise development is showing signs of movement. Material volatility is returning as a live issue. Industrialised construction is gaining more structure and momentum. Viability remains central to project decision-making. And glass specification is once again firmly on the industry agenda.
For senior leaders, the important thing is not to treat these as isolated topics. They are connected.
Viability links to design rationalisation. Material volatility links to procurement and supply chain resilience. Industrialised construction links to programme certainty. Building safety links to specification, regulation and trust.
As we move through May, the question is not simply what has changed.
It is how the industry responds.
Nick Haughton is Brand Director at Sapphire Balconies, keeping close to the key topics, legislation and policy makers across the markets Sapphire operates in.
He is also Co-Chair of the UK Construction Industry Task Force, which launched in UK Parliament in 2025, and hosts the Resibuild Podcast.
