11.11.2025
DHA Planning were pleased to attend this year’s launch of the Kent Property Market Report at the Ashford International Hotel, which once again offered valuable insight into the county’s evolving property landscape. Please read on for more details.
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The Kent Property Market Report is a comprehensive annual publication analysing the performance of Kent’s property sectors and identifying key investment and development opportunities. Produced in partnership by Kent County Council, Caxtons Chartered Surveyors and Locate in Kent, it covers commercial, residential and rural markets, new infrastructure, and the wider economic context.
The 2025 edition of the report provides an overview of the 2024-25 year across the following sectors:
Offices
Industrial & Distribution
Retail
Rural
Residential
This remains the strongest performing sector in Kent, with key trends including automation, a focus on supply chain resilience and the adoption of sustainable practices. The report highlights that the South East has seen limited rental growth in the last 12 months. However demand remains strong, particularly in Maidstone and Aylesford, and this is illustrated by the purchase of a 70-acre site on the A20 between Lenham and Harrietsham where plans will be brought forward for Panattoni Park Maidstone as a high-quality logistics and distribution development, before the end of 2025.
The office sector is showing tentative signs of recovery after a challenging period. Demand is increasingly focused on high-quality, flexible, sustainable workspace, reflecting continuing hybrid working trends.
The South East and Kent have both seen marginal rental growth over the last 12 months. It is however noted that the Kent average office rent is kept down primarily by the oversupply of mainly poor-quality offices in some parts of the county.
Business parks, science parks and innovation hubs remain key attractors for occupiers, and Kent’s strengths in life-sciences and advanced manufacturing are helping to underpin demand.
Kent Science Park near Sittingbourne remains as one of the region’s most established science and technology parks with 47 buildings offering a mix of lab space, offices and co-working facilities.
The Report highlights that Kent’s business parks continue to offer tenants best in class specification and logistically well-connected employment space.
The retail sector continues to face structural headwinds but is showing signs of resilience and recovery. Retail parks (rather than high streets) are faring better, with household-name value retailers expanding into previously under-used space. It is also noted that supermarkers continue to fair well with requirements for new stores throughout Kent.
Market participants are noting that while headline rents may remain under pressure, there are opportunities for redevelopment, repurposing and alternative use-classes that give the sector fresh legs.
The residential market in Kent is broadly stable but remains subdued in many parts. While some districts continue to show growth, others are seeing flat or falling values. For instance, across Kent the average house prices fell by 5% between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, compared a 7% decrease acorss the South East.
Key factors influencing the market include the cost of living and the prospect of new taxes for properties over £500,000 in the upcoming budget. On the positive side, recent interest-rate cuts and improved mortgage pricing, along with more flexible affordability assessments are beginning to boost buyer confidence.
Despite various challenges, especially to gaining planning permission, the Report confirms that schemes are still being approved, started and completed. For example, at Ebbsfleet Garden City, 648 homes have been completed in the last year, bringing the total to more than 5,000.
Government initiatives seen in the report (such as the housing investment fund and policy changes to the national planning framework) are expected to provide medium-term support, though their full effect will take time to flow through.
The Report states that arable land sales dominated the supply of farmland marketed during the first half of the year, with land values remaining fairly stable and a modest uplift in the south east.
In terms of outlook, the Report notes that there are numerous policy changes underway that affect farmers, including the inheritance tax reform legislation, all of which is bound to influence the farmland market.
For anyone involved in development, investment or planning in Kent, several clear messages emerge:
Location-specific quality matters: across sectors, the strongest performance is coming from high-quality sites in prime locations with good infrastructure and access.
Flexibility and repurposing are increasingly important: whether for offices, retail or industrial uses, buildings that can adapt to changing occupier needs and sustainability standards are best placed.
Infrastructure and strategic planning remain key: the report emphasises the importance of unlocking major sites, integrating infrastructure (transport, utilities, digital) and aligning with local and regional growth agendas.
Balanced long-term view essential: while headwinds remain (costs, policy changes, macro uncertainty), the market is showing resilience and selective optimism. Timing, product-type and risk management will be crucial.
The Report is also accompanied by the Strategic Sites 2025-2026 Map, which shows major strategic commercial development sites in Kent.
These offer opportunities for investment, construction, sale or rent of commercial buildings. The sites are classified according to a number of different categories such as business park, industrial etc and for each one location, usage and contact details are shown.
At DHA Planning, we believe this year’s report reinforces the importance of a proactive development strategy: locking in site opportunities early, maintaining flexibility in design and use, and closely aligning with local authority and infrastructure investment programmes.
If you are considering investing, developing or repositioning property in Kent, our team has the knowledge and experience to help navigate this evolving market — please get in touch to find out how we can assist.
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