18,000 new homes but it’s still too few

Lack of builders hampers efforts to build houses

MORE than 18,000 new homes were built last year but it’s still short of the number needed, new CSO figures show.

Three in five properties were houses in estates, the highest proportion since the figures were first counted in 2011.

As well as newly built homes, 800 houses on ghost estates were made habitable in 2018.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy welcomed yesterday’s figures from the Central Statistics Office, describing them as ‘positive news’.

‘In addition, more than 2,500 homes were brought out of longterm vacancy, and almost 800 dwellings in unfinished developments were completed, meaning the number of new homes available for use increased by almost 21,500 last year,’ he said. The number of new apartments was up 7% but experts believe many builders waited as new rules over size and design were thrashed out.

Much-needed new apartments are expected to increase rapidly this year.

David Duffy, director of Property Industry Ireland, said the figures were ‘slightly lower than expectations – which had been about 18,500 – but there are some positives’.

The number of new apartments coming on stream may have slowed due to some builders waiting for new rules on apartment sizes, he said.

‘They may have held off until they had better clarity,’ he said. ‘It’ll be interesting to see what happens this year.’

Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers CEO Pat Davitt said: ‘More apartments are needed in the cities where demand is greatest and affordability is an issue. They are not coming on stream at the levels needed.’

The IPAV was in agreement with the Dáil’s Housing, Planning and Local Government Committee which says existing issues in the housing market could be worsened by Brexit.

There were 18,072 new dwellings completed in 2018, an increase of 25% on 2017, single dwellings accounted for 26% of all new builds while 13% were apartments, the report found.

Meanwhile, a report from the Dáil’s housing committee has found that our property market is not prepared for Brexit. It warned of a lack of builders to meet the housing demand.