State officials will bang the drum for investment in Irish housing at this year’s MIPIM, the world’s premier property event, taking place in the French city of Cannes in March, amid signs private capital is beginning to flow back in to the sector here.
Ireland attended MIPIM on a pilot basis last year but it will for the first time have an official Irish pavilion at this year’s event.
Minister for Housing James Browne said a delegation of Government officials, national agencies and their private sector partners would promote Ireland as an “attractive destination for investment”.
They are expected to flag Ireland’s ambitious housing plan (which aims to build 300,000 homes by 2030); the State’s planned investment in infrastructure; and the recent overhaul of the planning system as key selling points.
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“Ireland is open for business and wants to build at pace and scale,” Mr Browne, who is planning to attend the event pending his St Patrick’s Day schedule, said.
“We are not simply waiting for this essential inward investment to happen, we are actively looking to activate it,” he said, noting that MIPIM 2026 was “an important opportunity” for the State to showcase its wares.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attended the event last year in an attempt to drum up investment for several key projects in the English capital.
Industry sources said investor sentiment towards Ireland’s property sector had changed for the positive in recent months amid a reduction in borrowing costs and on the back of various Government measures including changes to rent controls and a VAT cut on new-build apartments.
Investment in the private rented sector (PRS) here fell off a cliff in 2022 amid a hike in both borrowing and construction costs, leading to marked slowdown in new-home completions.
The Department of Finance estimates that building 300,000 new homes will require €20.4 billion a year in development finance, with the majority – €17 billion – coming from private resources. Currently the State is providing €3.5 billion with an additional €11.5 billion coming from the private sector.
Finance for smaller developers, who are often reliant on securing private equity on a project-by-project basis, remains a problem. But institutional investor appetite, particularly for the social and affordable segment of the market, is said to be strong because of the State’s involvement.
The conference is designed for investors to “access global capital” and for those attending to “discover solutions to make assets more sustainable in a changing world”, according to its website.
Ireland at MIPIM 2026 will centre on an “Ireland” pavilion which will host a programme of panel discussions and information sessions “to highlight the operational environment and growth potential for residential development in Ireland”, the Department of Housing said.
The Government’s new housing plan promises that a minimum of 300,000 new homes will be built by 2030 but a sharp slowdown in commencements has placed a question mark over that target.
The Central Bank forecasts that housing completions would reach 33,500 in 2025 before rising to 37,000, 40,500 and 44,500 in 2026, 2027 and 2028 respectively.
