The total number of new residential and commercial buildings recorded in Cork City and County in 2012 was 1,576 according to new figures released today by GeoDirectory. The figures represent a year on year increase of 1% compared to 2011, when 1,543 new buildings were added. The 1,576 new buildings identified in Cork City and County were composed of 1,373 residential buildings, 157 commercial buildings and 44 were dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial elements. These new additions bring the total number of buildings in Cork to 223, 207. The recorded figures highlight that 220 or 14% of this new commercial and residential stock in Cork are vacant. The data further indicates that 234 buildings across the county were under construction at the end of the year. The increase in new building additions in Cork in 2012 of 1% is just below the 2% increase recorded nationally. Cork City and County recorded the largest number of additions for 2012, where 1,373 residential, 130 commercial and 40 dual-purpose buildings were completed during the year. In contrast, Clare recorded the lowest number of new additions with 2 buildings identified. Waterford recorded the largest year on year decrease of 42%, with 253 residential, 21 commercial and 15 dual-purpose properties completed in 2012, compared to figures in 2011 of 353, 105 and 12 respectively. GeoDirectory was jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) to create and manage Ireland’s only complete database of commercial and residential buildings. The figures are recorded through a combination of the An Post network of 5,600 delivery staff working with OSi. Across the country, GeoDirectory recorded 12,541 new buildings consisting of 10,919 residential buildings, 1,245 commercial buildings and 375 dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial components. Cork and 13 other counties; (Clare, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary and Wexford) were in line with the national trend, showing increases in new building additions compared to 2011. The largest increase of 39% was in Galway, where 626 new buildings were identified. Commenting on the figures, Dara Keogh, CEO, GeoDirectory said, “The end of year figures for 2012 highlight a small increase in building activity. The figures for 2012 and 2011 indicate a bottoming out of the downward curve, and a levelling off of the decrease in building activity. This positive trend is supported by growth in new additions across fourteen counties, with Cork City and County recording the largest number of new buildings. This contrasts with the figures recorded for commercial buildings, highlighting a year on year decline of 25% in this sector, sustaining a downward trend in the number of new additions over the last five years, from a peak of 4,458 in 2007 to 1,245 buildings identified in 2012.”
28th January, 2013