On Tuesday 18th January, GeoDirectory released its highly sought-after Residential Buildings Report Q4 2021. The report was produced in conjunction with EY Ireland and presented the current state of Ireland’s housing market at a national, regional and county level.
Since the latest release of its kind, there has been widespread coverage from a number of leading online publications, national newspapers and journalists discussing its key facts and figures on various housing issues. Reporting on a number of topics such as remote working, property prices across Ireland and national vacancy rates, here’s what the 5 top Irish media sources had to say:
"What we need is a really effective vacant and derelict property tax. What is vital is that it is enough of a disincentive that essentially it forces property owners of vacant and derelict properties to sell or to do it up and use it as rental home.”
Referring to the latest vacant and derelict property figures from the GeoDirectory report, this article announced the new regulations which will allow vacant and derelict properties to be turned into homes without prior planning permission. In addition to this, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien also explains the proposed plan to introduce a new grant for first-time buyers who purchase a derelict property.
With the number of vacant dwellings standing at 90,158 and the number of derelict residencies standing at 2,096 last year, these new regulations will bring much more affordable housing opportunities for those looking to get on the property ladder in the coming year.
Learn more about where the highest vacant and derelict properties are in Ireland here.
“While the data around residential construction activity in the latter half of 2021 is extremely encouraging, there is still exceptionally high levels of demand in the housing market.”
Using the residential construction activity figures from the GeoDirectory report, this article discusses the current housing stock supply compared to the Government’s “Housing for All” plan where it is intended to build half a million homes over the next decade.
While it was found that fewer new homes were added to the GeoDirectory address database towards the latter half of 2021, there was in fact an increase in buildings under construction compared to the previous year. Although a positive finding, there is still an extremely high demand in the housing market and an uncertainty that the government’s plan may not deliver to that demand.
Read more on Ireland’s residential construction findings here.
“People want to move out of Dublin and Leinster to other parts of the country, and it is possible with the shift to remote working. But they need affordable homes to rent and buy.”
In this article, Rory Hearne discusses the impact of the Covid19 Pandemic on the shift towards remote working across the nation. This shift has provided opportunities for those who wish to move out of the Dublin/Leinster region to more affordable areas across Ireland. However, with the latest national property price figures, the plans for those who want to move has proved to be a lot less affordable than originally assumed. Using figures from GeoDirectory’s report, Rory explains that it was in fact the areas outside Dublin where property prices increased the most, with the South-East increasing by 14%, the Midlands by 17% and the South-West by 14%.
If you’d like to read more on the latest property price figures across Ireland, click here.
“Activity has rebounded since reopening fully in April with 19,495 buildings recorded as being under construction in Q4 2021, the highest number since we started the report in 2014.”
This piece focused in on the local impact of the Covid19 pandemic on the construction sector within the Cork region. Using figures from the GeoDirectory report, the Independent reported that although the number of new residential buildings had decreased by almost a quarter compared to the previous year, the residential buildings under construction had in fact increased.
While the pandemic proved to be a huge obstacle for the delivery of housing across Ireland, there has since been a strong rebound in construction activity since April, indicating a strong and positive supply of housing stock throughout 2022.
If you’re interested in learning more about the construction activity figures within your area, check out our report here.
"Covid-19 has proved to be a substantial speed-bump for the delivery of housing supply in Ireland”
Focusing on the property transactions in the latter half of 2021, this article reports on the nationwide increase in property sales with 16% of those sales accounting for newly built homes.
Referencing figures from the GeoDirectory report, RTE.ie details the average property prices in counties across Ireland; with the highest average property price of €496,652 being found in Dublin and the lowest average property price of €142,298 being found in Longford.
If you’re interested in learning more about property prices across Ireland, read the full report here.
If you’d like to read the full GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report or a quick 5 min read of its key takeaways, please click here.
Below are some local stories referencing the report that also may be of interest:
·Dundalk Democrat: “GeoDirectory Report Highlights Number Of Derelict Houses In Louth”
·Limerick Post: “Vacancy Rate In Limerick Higher Than National Average”
·Echo Live “Report Finds Over 2,000 Residential Buildings Were Under Construction In Cork Last Month”
·WLR FM: “Report Reveals Waterford Property Data for 2021”
·Cork Independent: “Property Prices Spike Across Country”
·Offaly Express: “Average Residential Property Price In Offaly Now €189,933”
·Tipperary Live: “Revealed: Over 300 Residential Buildings Under Construction In The Premier County”
·Radio Kerry News: “Kerry's Residential Vacancy Rate Over Twice The National Average”
·Galway Daily: “Residential Vacancy Rate Above Average In Galway”
·Mayo Advertiser: “Mayo Has Second Highest Residential Vacancy Rate In The Country”
·The Northern Standard: “462 Residential Buildings Currently Under Construction In Co Monaghan”
·Longford Leader: “175 Residential Buildings In Longford Under Construction”
·Clare FM: “GeoDirectory Say Clare Has ‘Room For Improvement’ In Empty Home Rates
Posted: 17/02/2022 09:52:49