Housebuilding in Ireland hits record high

August 23, 2018 / Isla MacFarlane
Housebuilding in Ireland hits record high

The latest data shows that demand is pushing up housing delivery in Ireland, with activity hitting a record high on some indexes.

In Q2 2018, 4,419 new dwellings were completed in Ireland, up 34.1% over the same period in 2017, according to the Central Statistics office. A total of 7,909 new dwellings were completed in the first half of 2018.

According to the figures, which are derived from ESB grid connections, building energy certificates, data from Revenue and information from GeoDirectory, a major increase in housing schemes are behind the increase.

The majority of new dwellings were part of a housing scheme, whereas just 26% were solo projects and only 11% were apartments. 78% of the new dwellings completed were in urban areas. Dublin and the Mid-East made up 60.5% of all new dwelling completions in the second quarter of 2018.

Laura Flannelly, Statistician, said, “The number of scheme dwellings completed in Q2 2018 was 2,761, compared with 1,788 in Q2 2017 an increase of 54.4%. Single dwellings account for 26.2% of all new dwelling completed in Q2 2018, the lowest proportion since the series began in 2011.

“The majority of new dwelling completions in Q2 2018 were in the Dublin and Mid-East regions making up 60.5% of all new dwelling completions. Dublin 15 was the Eircode area with the highest number (308) of new dwellings completed.”

According to separate data, the housing pipeline looks set to rise. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded the highest growth of housebuilding activity in the index’s history.

The rate of growth in housebuilding boosted the overall increase in Irish construction activity in July, amid widespread reports of strengthening demand, according to the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

Consistent with anecdotal evidence, the housing subcategory recorded the fastest rise of those monitored by the survey as the rate of expansion accelerated.

Commenting on the survey, Simon Barry, Chief Economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, said, “Particularly encouraging was a notable quickening in the rate of expansion in Housing activity where the PMI rose to an exceptional 63.9.

“Not only does this leave housing as the strongest-performing sub-sector, but it is one of the highest readings in the survey’s 18- year history. The latest CSO figures show housing completions were up over 25% y/y in Q1. The encouraging signal from the more timely Housing PMI suggests that rapid growth in housing output has been sustained in the period since then.”

According to the index, July saw an improvement in confidence among Irish construction firms, with optimism regarding the 12- month outlook for activity remaining strong. Expectations of improvements in economic conditions and customer demand were behind positive sentiment.

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