Construction of new homes jumps 17% but still lags demand

CSO figures show much current residential construction is centred in and around Dublin

The number of new homes built in the State last year rose by nearly 17 per cent to 14,446, according to figures contained in the Central Statistics Office (CSO) 2018 yearbook.

While this was more than 200 per cent up on the 2013 figure (4,575), it is still less than half the estimated level of housing demand in the Irish market, which is put at 30,000- 35,000.

At the height of the boom in 2006, a record 92,000 homes were built in the State. The latest figures show the number of new apartments built in 2017 was 2,264, an increase of 92 per cent on 2016.

Many apartment schemes, however, have been put on hold ahead of likely changes to the development rules in Dublin and elsewhere.

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In other European countries, apartments typically account for 30-50 per cent of the housing stock, but in Ireland they account for just 10 per cent.

The figures show that much of the current residential construction is centred in and around Dublin. Dublin county had the most new dwellings completed in 2017, with 5,602, the majority of which were scheme houses.

Completed

The most single dwellings were completed in Co Cork with 562. Outside Dublin and Cork, counties Meath (1,108) and Kildare (985) had the most dwellings completed, while Leitrim (73) and Longford (75) had the least.

In the majority of counties new single dwellings outnumber new scheme dwellings and apartments.

The CSO figures also detail the rise and fall and rise again of Irish property prices.

Dublin residential property prices fell faster than property prices outside the capital, declining 57.7 per cent from 2007 to 2012. However, they also recovered faster, increasing 72.5 per cent from 2012 to 2017.

In contrast, residential property prices outside the capital declined by 51.8 per cent between 2007 and 2012. They fell a further 6.9 per cent in 2013, but recovered 50.4 per cent of their value between the low point in 2013 and 2017.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times