The number of apartments granted planning permission has jumped by more than 50 per cent amid signs the various Government policies aimed at boosting apartment construction are beginning to bear fruit.
Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures indicate planning permissions for apartments rose by 51 per cent to 5,016 in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same three-month period last year.
Dublin had the highest number of apartment units granted planning permission at 2,782 which represented 55 per cent of the total for the State.
Apartments are seen as key to boosting housing supply to the Government’s target rate of 50,000 units a year.
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However, a number of projects have stalled due to the high cost of construction here.
To enhance viability, the Government has changed design standards, revamped rent controls and reduced VAT on new-build apartments.
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The CSO cautioned against extrapolating long-term trends in planning on the basis of a single quarter’s data, noting the number of new dwelling units granted planning permission “can vary significantly from quarter to quarter if a large development or a number of large developments are approved within the same reference quarter”.
The latest data indicated the total number of dwelling units approved in the third quarter rose by 29 per cent to 11,142 in the third quarter.
Houses accounted for 55 per cent of all dwelling units granted planning permission while apartments made up the remaining 45 per cent. House approvals increased by 15.7 per cent to 6,126.
The number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission was up by 14 per cent annually, from 4,101 units in the third quarter of 2024 to 4,676 units in the third quarter of this year.
The number of one-off houses receiving planning permission in the third quarter rose by 21.6 per cent to 1,450 units.
While not all planning permissions lead to actual housing units, they are a key indicator of the housing pipeline.
A report published this week showed that only the top 20 per cent of earners can afford to rent an average apartment built in Ireland in 2025, while just the top 40 per cent of earners can afford to buy one.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland’s (SCSI) latest Real Costs of New Apartment Delivery report, the first in the series since 2021, showed that buyers face a big affordability gap with sales prices for a two-bedroom apartment ranging from €480,000 in suburban medium-rise schemes to €650,000 in an urban development.
To afford these apartments, a first-time buyer couple would require a combined salary of between €108,000 to €146,000, based on a 4:1 loan-to-income ratio.
