Key Statistics
- A total of 21,207 residential addresses were added to the GeoDirectory database in 2018, representing 1.1% of the total national residential stock of 1,993,672
- 10,836 residential buildings were under construction in December 2018, an increase of 121% on December 2016 levels
- New dwellings accounted for 20.7% of all residential property transactions in the twelve months to October 2018, 2.7 percentage points higher than the same period in 2017
- The national vacancy rate remains unchanged at 4.8%, with 19 counties experiencing a decline in vacancy rates
- The average national residential property price is, €284,546 when Dublin is excluded, this falls to €207,135
Construction boom gains more pace with more to come
The level of residential constructions continues to grow at very impressive rates with 21,207 new dwellings added in 2018. It sounds and is a big number and this the equivalent of adding another Waterford City to Ireland in the last year. And while commentators will correctly point to supply side issues putting upward pressure on prices we can see a moderation in price growth. The average growth in house prices was 4.6% in year-on-year in Dublin and by 8.6% nationally. This is in part due to the mortgage credit restriction enforced by the Central Bank and also by increasing supply into the market. To read the full Residential Property Report visit here
There is more good news as the pipeline of buildings under construction (10,836) is 45% up on what it was this time last year and just over 120% greater than it was in 2016. These are significant growth figures and while the long term supply may need to be in the 30-35,000 bracket per annum the response form the construction industry is nevertheless impressive.
Dublin is rising
As we could not find a definition of apartment block we decided to make up our own and we define an apartment block as a building in which there are five or more apartments. So a house set in 2,3 or 4 apartments is not included. Using our definition (which does not include all apartments) we see that 21.5% of all addresses in Dublin are now in Apartment Blocks. There has been a 2% rise in the number of apartments in apartments block in Dublin. In real numbers that is 2,298 additional apartments or the equivalent of adding just over 6 Clonliffe Roads to the stock of apartments in apartments blocks to Dublin in 2018. No wonder the Irish Times had their ‘Crane Count’ in December with 104 cranes visible from their offices in Tara Street.
For the most recent Geoview Commercial Property Report CLICK HERE
Commuter Belt is where it’s happening
If you were asked to look into the future using a sporting crystal ball and to answer when will Dublin’s dominance in Gaelic football come to an end come to an end? Or how long can Leinster Rugby continue to produce what seems like a conveyor belt of rugby talent? Or where will the Irish soccer team see its next batch of soccer stars. The answers when we review the growth in the number of new dwellings and the arising patterns of purchase of new dwellings in the Geoview report is as follows:
1) In the case of when will Dublin’s dominance decline in GAA football? Well the answer appears to be not any time soon as the number of new address and buildings under construction continues to grow at the fastest rate in the country with 35.2% of the total new addressee ( 7,465) being added in Dublin . Yes the pipeline is looking good and with Jim Gavin extending his tenure as Bainsteoir it hasn’t hurt either. Although Cork with the second highest and just under 10% of the growth might have a thing or two to say going forward.
2) For Leinster rugby the picture is even brighter with Kildare, Wicklow Meath , Laois and Louth showing significant growth ( up to 39% for Meath) in the number of new dwellings being bought. Yes the Leinster talent pool is both looking strong and deep with a spread of growth through at least five counties outside Dublin. Good news for Leinster and Irish Rugby and should give Andy Farrell plenty of selection headaches after the Schmidt eras ends in 2019.
Visit here for radio interview on number of house being built in the Midlands.
3) The FAI firstly need to look within their traditional Dublin heartland and see that the key largest and fastest growing areas in Dublin are in what needs to be their new Dublin heartland of Fingal and South Dublin where 37.8% and 35.4% of property purchases were new. However, if soccer is to learn from other sports then Stephen Kenny, the next Irish Manager in waiting, may need to spread his scouting wings and copy Leinster Rugby and reach beyond there Dublin bastion into the massively growing commuter belt counties with a further reach into Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth and Laois. Additional coaching and club development should be focused on these very fast growing areas with the pool of potential talent.
To read the full report visit here
Posted: 24/12/2018 12:44:05