It may not feel like it for those in the market, but housing supply actually increased in Ireland last year. In the first nine months of 2025, there were 24,325 new dwelling completions; an increase of 13 per cent on the same period in 2024, according to official figures.
Despite this, house prices are on an upward trajectory. Statistics from the CSO’s Housing Hub show that in January of this year, the average price for a house in the State was €390,000, rising to €500,000 in Dublin.
For those wishing to buy a second-hand home, the news is not any better. New data from estate agents Sherry FitzGerald found that at the start of the year, the stock of available properties to buy was 28 per cent lower than in January 2020. And as landlords exit the market, supply is tightening in the rental sector too, with renters coming under ever-increasing pressure.
It’s not surprising that Irish adults are remaining at home with their parents for longer, with many more “boomeranging” back as their housing circumstances change.
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But multigenerational living can be pretty tricky in the average Irish home. Space is at a premium, and differing preferences can cause friction. For homeowners with growing families or for those who would like to move but can’t, staying put in a house that doesn’t meet their needs can be a source of daily stress.
It is no wonder, then, that many are looking at their outdoor spaces and wondering about their potential for a garden room or modular structure. Essentially, these are small prefabricated buildings that offer flexibility for space-strapped householders.
“The current housing crisis is forcing Irish homeowners to rethink their living spaces,” agrees Pat Kelly, director of Outdoor Living (stand L38 at the PTSB Ideal Home Show).
“Making use of dormant areas in back gardens is definitely something that will become more common over the next decade.”
Kelly has seen an uptick in interest at Outdoor Living over the past 18 months, with homeowners looking for modular spaces for leisure, offices or sunrooms. “A new addition to our catalogue is the ModPod, which comes in four different sizes. There has been huge interest in these in the last year,” he says of his company’s flexible, fast-install modular buildings.
It’s not just homeowners who have outgrown their homes that are looking to sprinkle some modular magic into their lives. Purchasers who can’t quite find or afford a house with everything they want are factoring in the possibility of adding an extra space when faced with suboptimal choices in the housing market.
“A growing trend at the moment is new home buyers planning to purchase a garden room at the same time as buying their new home,” says John Sherry, managing director of Garden Rooms. “If the house they like lacks the space they require, but is in the right area, they’ll incorporate it as part of their plans.”
Teenagers are also driving adoption. “The family that gets the most use out of our garden rooms are the ones that set the room up as a multipurpose room from the very start. It can be used as a home office during the week and then a teen room in the evening and at weekends.”
Garden Rooms’ impressive portfolio includes more than 2,000 bespoke commissions which clients have put to work for a variety of purposes including home offices, home cinemas, art studios, teenagers’ rooms, music rooms, home studies and gyms.
Sherry is now in his 23rd year of building garden rooms for the Irish market and says that, “I used to joke that one day we would see every third garden in Ireland with a garden room. I believe we are nearly there now.”
Legislation on the way
One big reason for the increased adoption of garden rooms is that the Government recently announced its intention to increase the maximum permitted size for detached structures in back gardens.
Right now, you can build a stand-alone structure of up to 25sq m without planning permission, but new rules, yet to be enacted, will increase this to 45sq m, offering new scope for additional bedrooms, guest facilities or family annexes.
“This will be a complete game changer,” says Kelly. “It will definitely allow homeowners to think differently about how they live and use their space. It will allow for more options with a much larger footprint to work with when considering modular home or outdoor room options.”
This doesn’t mean, however, that householders can simply build what they want, and rules will need to be followed. You’ll need to retain 25sq m of free area in the garden, and you’ll need to take your neighbours into account, potentially building a set distance away from property lines, for example.
Additionally, you’ll have to comply with current building regulations, fire safety, energy standards, ventilation and structural compliance. All the services, such as plumbing and electricity, will have to be connected to the main house.
But once you observe all of that, you have a host of fun choices you can make. Because of their construction, modular homes are warm and well-insulated. “Our ModPod pavilions are fully insulated, including the roof, walls and floor, with double-glazed windows,” Kelly says.
You decide what goes inside, whether that’s a full mini-house set-up with bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom suitable for a family member, or a large open space for an art studio or fitness centre.
Depending on your supplier, you can also tailor your modular home to your particular design aesthetic, choosing cladding and window colours that marry with your home’s design.
For Sherry, natural exterior finishes are the preferred choice. “We keep coming back to natural timber. We source our cedar from British Columbia in Canada, and we have seen that burnt larch has become very popular in the last few years,” he says.
Another hugely attractive aspect of a modular structure is the speed at which they can be installed, often a fraction of the time it takes to build a house extension, for example.
Kelly says a ModPod can be installed in as little as one day. “They come in panels, which makes them much more accessible for assembly,” he says. No crane truck is required, and you don’t need to pour a concrete base; instead, a bed of hardcore is sufficient. “The feet of the ModPods are fully adjustable, meaning the groundwork does not have to be completely level.”
Sherry’s approach is more bespoke and tailored towards the luxury end of the market. “We make everything on site to tailor to our clients’ needs,” he says. That naturally takes a bit longer, with the process taking between six and seven weeks.
Even at that, it is still a short wait for a new room that will open up a whole world of possibilities for the space-starved homeowner.
For more information on the show and to register for free tickets, visit idealhome.ie
