Appetite for apartments outstrips houses in 2020

The new student accommodation at Victoria Cross in Cork, next to County Hall, with the fire damaged St. Kevin's builiding on the Lee road in the background. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Apartments, powered by student accommodation demand, overtook houses when it came to planning permission being granted for new builds last year, while the green light for new homes overall grew by 13.5%.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) data shows  planning permissions were granted for more than 26,000 apartments in 2020, compared with about 19,500 in 2019, an increase of just under 34%.