01 December – Article below from Irish Examiner references National Residential Developments Report to highlight the growth within the Residential Construction Sector
More than 260 multi-unit development projects, worth a combined €1.47bn and currently under construction, were commenced in the first three quarters of the year.
A total of 264 developments comprising almost 6,400 individual units are being built and contributing to the strong growth in the sector in terms of job creation, positive sentiment, and activity levels.
The vast number of developments being built in Dublin dwarfs those in other regions, with the rest of Leinster seeing the next greatest rate of activity followed by Munster.
The data is contained in the first edition of the Residential Developments Report compiled by Irish consultancy firm Link2Plans.
Managing director Danny O’Shea said the report offers a comprehensive insight into the property market.
“This is the first time that we have had an actual figure for the number of homes and apartments actually under construction at any given time. The Link2Plans research shows that work on 264 multi-unit development projects relating to 6,388 residential units being built, has commenced construction since the start of 2014 up to the end of September.
“The analysis of the research also highlights some important trends in the Irish residential construction market. Unsurprisingly, Dublin accounts for the majority of the multi-unit projects commenced in the first nine months of 2014, with 108 multi-unit development projects started in the capital.
“With an estimated construction cost of over €841m, the corresponding 3,610 residential units are equal to 57% of the total number of multi-unit developments in Ireland for that period.”
Not including activity in Dublin, the rest of Leinster accounted for a greater number of projects than in any other region: 74 developments will provide more than 1,300 units with an estimated value of €314m, under construction.
Munster saw the next greatest number of developments with 59, which accounted for the same number of individual units.
The combined figures of Connacht and Ulster illustrate a much lower level of residential construction activity in those regions with only 23 multi-unit development projects relating to 152 residential units and a total value of €27m commenced during the first nine months of 2014.
Every project that has commenced construction and has two or more units is included in the report, with detached, terraced and semi-detached houses, duplexes, and apartments included.
One-off housing, self-builds, and housing extensions are not included.
The value estimates were produced by the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland.
Commencements across all regions were weighted heavily towards the opening quarter of the year when 178 of the 264 projects began construction.
In contrast, between July and August, just two projects began construction in Ulster and Connacht.
The report gives an insight into the significant rate of residential construction activity in the market this year.
With an acute lack of housing supply, particularly in Dublin, deemed to be the key contributor to rising house prices, the report may offer some hope that projects currently under construction will help alleviate the situation once the more than 6,000 individual units come on stream.
Source – Irish Examiner