'Disappointing' start to 2024 as new housing completions drop 12%
notable drop was largely driven by a more than 25% decrease in new completions in Dublin, with new apartments largely located in urban areas subsequently falling by more than a third as high borrowing costs weigh on the capital's apartment scheme builders.
An "exponential" increase in the number of houses being built is needed to keep price growth in check, with a drop in new dwelling completions in the first three months of this year marking a "disappointing" start to 2024.
New data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday reported a more than 12% annual fall in the number of new dwelling completions from January to March this year, with just over 5,800 homes being built in the three months.
The notable drop was largely driven by a more than 25% decrease in new completions in Dublin, with new apartments largely located in urban areas subsequently falling by more than a third as high borrowing costs weigh on the capital's apartment scheme builders.
More than three-quarters of apartment completions in the last three months were in Dublin, the CSO said, with that figure rising to 93.5% for Dublin city.
Completions in the first three months of 2024 fell for six of the eight regions of Ireland compared to the last three months of 2023, with increases limited to the midlands and southeast.
There were 3,038 scheme dwelling completions from January to March this year, down 1.4% from the previous three months, while the number of single dwellings completed was 1,200, up 1.3% in the same period. More than half of completions were scheme dwellings, 27.4% were apartments, and 20.6% were single dwellings, the CSO said.
The significant dip suggests problems for Taoiseach Simon Harris who recently said the Government will build 250,000 homes over the next five years. The 12% drop also likely comes as a surprise for analysts, with Goodbody Experts recently forecasting that 2024 would see the highest number of Irish home completions since before the banking and property crash more than 15 years ago.
Speaking at the start of the year, Goodbody analysts said Irish house completions were set to reach 35,000 this year, however, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) warned in January that official housing targets will need to be revised higher based on the overall growth of the population and the number of Ukrainian refugees.
“The 12.1% fall in housing completions captured in this morning’s report is disappointing," said managing director at Lotus Investment Group, Ian Lawlor.
Noting recent rises in house prices, Mr Lawlor said it is "imperative that more supply comes on board."
"There needs to be an exponential increase in the number of houses being built so that young people here have a chance of owning their own home and so that the rate of house price growth is kept in check."
"Even where first-time buyers can get the finance together to buy a home, the huge mismatch between supply and demand means their efforts to get onto the property ladder are continually frustrated by properties in housing developments being rapidly sold out."
Mr Lawlor said the problem of planning permission delays "continues to overshadow the Irish housing market" with too many developments being unfairly and unnecessarily blocked by planning objections and appeals.
He added that the Taoiseach's housing pledge was "at odds" with the Government's current housing targets, but that it was "more in line" with what needs to be done.
"We hope however that the Taoiseach’s promise is not an empty one," Mr Lawlor concluded.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
