26 per cent fewer houses completed
ONLY 196 WERE FINISHED LAST YEAR
THERE was a 26 per cent drop in houses built in Wicklow up to November 2012.
According to the latest figures produced by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), 196 new houses were completed in County Wicklow last year from January through to November.
This represents a 26 per cent drop compared to the 265 houses completed in 2011 over the same period.
Wicklow’s drop also exceeds national trends in which there was a 20.4 per cent drop in house building from January to November 2011.
Nationally 7,662 houses were completed up to the end of November last year, compared to 9,630 the year before.
Speaking about the housing figures, CIF Director General Tom Parlon says 2012 was the worst year on record when it comes to new houses being built.
‘ These figures underline the difficulties that faced the construction sector in 2012. It was another difficult year for builders in Wicklow and throughout the country. Nationally 2012 was the worst year on record for the level of new housing units built. 2011 had held the record for the lowest level of house completions when 10,480 units were built. That had been the lowest since records began in 1970. However we expect the final figure for 2012 to be considerably below that - somewhere in the region of 8,000 units in total.’
Mr. Parlon adds that the property market is still recovering from problems generated from the Celtic Tiger days, though he sees indications of improvement for 2013.
‘We still have an oversupply of housing in certain parts of the country. As long as that oversupply exists it will be difficult for new house building activity to be completed in these areas. However there are signs that the year ahead will be more positive for the sector. In urban areas the level of vacant housing is dropping to low levels and there is also an increased level of demand. The fact that house prices are now more affordable is also encouraging interest, following years of price decreases. Add in the beginnings of increased lending by the banks and it represents a positive indicator for the residential sector.’