The See Media team has been making its predictions for the 2025 year in housing and comms, with AI, decarbonisation and rebuilding trust amongst the themes in their 2025 forecast.
Sarah Thomas, Senior Director, predicts that in the face of the continued rise of AI, ethical considerations in PR will be even more important in 2025 and beyond: “With ethical values being central to any brand’s success, I think we’ll see brands concentrating more on social issues and focusing on the role of ethics in how they operate.”
As head of See Media’s AI working group, Account Director Jade Ziola-Sammons, is unsurprisingly predicting the rise of AI usage too, but thinks it will be used in a much wider context this year. “To date, AI has chiefly been seen as a tool for content creation, but we’re starting to see its impact in other areas such as deeper data analysis, improving performance and boosting organisational productivity. The cultural change required to harness the potential of new technologies and ways of working that incorporate AI could, however, be its biggest barrier to wider adoption across the sector.”
Stacey Cooper, Copywriter & Publications Manager, also predicts that creatives will begin to embrace AI more this year. “I think people in roles like mine are starting to see the benefits of AI as a tool or starting point to do our jobs even better, rather than feeling it’s going to replace us. AI has its place and can help with efficiency and freeing up resources for new projects, but as we’ve written about before, will always need the human touch.”
Away from AI, Harriett Bolton, Junior Account Manager, predicts that housebuilders, along with the government and local authorities, will be implementing strategies and incentives to help first-time buyers.
In 2023, there were 3.6 million young people aged 20 to 34 years old living at home with their parents. Harriet says: “High rental costs, combined with the cost-of-living crisis, is making it increasingly difficult for young people to buy their first home, so I think (and hope, for myself!) that organisations will be prioritising affordability for this group.”
Jim Round, Account Manager, sees decarbonisation taking centre stage in 2025. “The UK’s social housing sector will be defined by a transformative focus on decarbonisation as housing providers tackle the dual challenges of meeting government sustainability targets and ensuring affordability for tenants. With ambitious net-zero commitments and new regulatory demands for energy-efficient homes, I see retrofitting existing stock becoming the sector’s dominant priority.”
Jim believes that we will see large-scale retrofitting programmes, supported by public-private funding partnerships, which will drive innovation in materials and methods. “We’ll also see more of a shift in how housing providers communicate with tenants about energy savings and tenant involvement in co-designing retrofit.”
With grant funding limited, providers will increasingly turn to green finance, such as sustainability-linked bonds, to fund these costly upgrades. Enhanced building safety regulations and new KPIs tied to damp, mould, and thermal efficiency will also compel providers to deliver not just on environmental goals but also on improved tenant well-being. “However, success will hinge on innovative financing models, workforce upskilling, and robust government support.”
Rounding up the housing predictions for 2025, Managing Director Stuart Macdonald thinks that trust will be rebuilt. “Although building safety and damp and mould issues have dented satisfaction with the performance of housing providers in recent years, they will still rebuild trust in their communities in 2025.”
According to a Reuters survey in 2024, globally just 40% of people trust the news, with an Office for National Statistics study revealing that trust in the UK media is even lower at around 19%. As people find it harder to know which sources of information to believe, it is likely they will increasingly rely on existing peer networks. “Despite their financial troubles, organisations such as local authorities will remain among the most trusted in the UK,” Stuart predicts.
The ONS survey found councils are trusted by a third of people, with other institutions – such as the courts and police – even higher at around 60%. Housing charities such as Shelter (66%) and Crisis (57%) also enjoy high trust scores among the public, according to a recent YouGov poll.
“This means that for our housing provider clients, there is a good opportunity to rebuild relations with their residents and wider communities as a trusted voice.”
The key, according to the ONS research, is to focus on fairness and balancing the needs of current and future generations. “Despite funding pressures, the continued emphasis on gathering and acting on resident feedback will see councils and housing associations steadily improve resident satisfaction and trust in 2025.”
And finally, following a bumper of fundraising year in 2024, raising over £1,500 for Zarach, See Media’s Business Manager, Sally Saunders, is predicting another successful year. “For 2025, we’ve chosen to support The Buddy Bag Foundation. Based on our previous fundraising, and with the team’s combined efforts, I predict we’ll once again smash our £500 target and raise lots of money for this amazing charity.”
To discuss your predictions for 2025, or how we can support you this year, send us an email at hello@see-media.co.uk.
