Cairn Homes buys Dairygold’s Cork CMP site for €25.6m in city’s biggest housing deal of the year

Cairn Homes’ €25.6m purchase of Dairygold’s former CMP site signals Cork’s growing draw for large-scale residential investment

Dairygold's sale of the former CMP site to Cairn Homes was the largest land deal in the third quarter. Construction work has commenced on the site to deliver more than 600 apartments. Picture: Pedersen Focus

Dairygold’s €25.6m sale of the former CMP site on Cork's Kinsale Road to Cairn Homes was the largest land development deal in the third quarter, according to Savills Ireland.

The 8.4-acre residential site has full planning permission for 606 units and several commercial units, with site preparation work currently underway ahead of its full development. Housing agency Respond is due to take on the completed scheme under a social and cost-rental model.

The sale is the first time the largest quarterly transaction has taken place outside of Dublin since the second quarter of 2023.

Peter O’Meara, Director, Savills Cork, said the deal represents a milestone for Cork’s development land market and the city’s increasing draw for major residential investment. 

"The scale and location of the CMP site make it one of Cork’s most significant housing-led regeneration opportunities in recent years," he said. 

Savills said a growing number of Dublin-based developers are now seeking opportunities in the Cork region. Sites with full planning permission (FPP) are particularly favoured, with scale emerging as a key requirement for many purchasers.

Cork City and County Councils are reviewing re-zoning submissions as part of the Section 28 guidelines released in July. Savills said this process could potentially see a substantial volume of land re-zoned, unlocking new development opportunities across the city and wider county.

“We’re seeing a noticeable shift in developer behaviour. Interest from Dublin-based players has never been stronger, but there’s a clear preference for well-located, shovel-ready sites that can deliver scale and certainty," James O'Donovan, Associate Director at Savills Cork said.

"As re-zoning decisions come through and conditional structures remain common, Cork’s market is set for an active and strategically important year ahead.” 

Across the country, the report shows activity remained resilient in the third quarter, with the average deal size reaching €6.2m and the average price per acre up 17% year-on-year to €410,800. Notably, 41% of sites sold in Q3 had planning permission, up from just 12% in the previous quarter.

On a sectoral basis, residential accounted for 77% of all transactions – well above the five-year average of 66% – followed by mixed-use sites at 14%. Dublin retained the largest overall market share at €54.4m (67%).

Looking nationally, Savills notes that government measures introduced in Budget 2026, including the reduction of VAT on apartment sales to 9% and the extension of the Residential Development Stamp Duty Refund Scheme, are expected to support housing delivery by improving development viability and encouraging construction activity across the country.

After the CMP sale, the next biggest deal took place in Dublin, where 55.9 acres at Flemington Lane, Balbriggan, was sold at a price of €20.0m. The third-biggest transaction involved 97.0 acres in Maynooth West, Co Kildare, which sold for €15.0m.

Despite the developments, the Savills report notes a wide gap between the rolling 12-month housing completion rates and the Government's target of 50,000 units per year, with the gap largest in the regional cities.