PROPERTY NEWS: 3,621 new residential address points recorded in Cork over past twelve months with further 2,844 under construction

 A total of 3,621 new residential address points were recorded in Cork the twelve months to June 2024 according to the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report released today. The report, prepared by EY, found that a further 2,844 residential buildings were under construction across the county in June 2024.

Nationally, 31,384 address points were added to the GeoDirectory database. The highest proportion were located in Dublin with over a third of the overall total (10,508), followed by Cork (3,621), Meath (1,812) and Kildare (1,599). Counties in Leinster accounted for over two-thirds (66.2%) of the new address points.

The total number of buildings under construction nationally in June 2024 was down 4.3%, or 991 buildings, compared to June 2023. Of the 21,851 residential buildings under construction last month, 13.7% were located in Dublin (2,985 buildings), closely followed by Cork (2,844 buildings). Construction activity was weakest in the neighbouring counties of Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford where there were fewer than 200 buildings under construction.

In Cork, the residential vacancy rate in Q2 2024 was 3.7%. The national vacancy rate remained at a record low of 3.9%, which is unchanged from the corresponding period in Q2 2023.

A total of 82,031 residential properties were recorded as vacant in June 2024.

The lowest vacancy rates in the country were recorded in Dublin (1.2%), Kildare (1.3%), Waterford (2.3%) and Carlow (2.5%), while the highest residential vacancy rates continue to be found along the North and Midwest coast. Leitrim, at 12.0% was the county with the highest vacancy rate, along with Mayo (10.7%), Roscommon (10.2%), Donegal (9.2%) and Sligo (8.2%).

A further 20,413 residential buildings were classified as derelict in June 2024, with 6.4% of these located in Cork.

In May 2024 the average house price nationally was €381,749. In Dublin, the average property transaction price was €542,240, the highest in the country, while the lowest average property price was Longford at €182,713.

In Cork, the average property transaction price was €347,357.

Analysing house price data published by the CSO and the latest rent price data from Daft.ie, the report found that the average mortgage repayment for a new dwelling in May 2024 was €1,723 compared with the average market rent in Q1 2024 of €1,836. This is higher than the latest average monthly rent payment of €1,595 from the Residential Tenancies Board for Q4 2023.

Commenting on the findings of the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory said, “We have seen a significant increase of over 17% in the number of new address points recorded over the past twelve months, which combined with the number of buildings under construction, suggests a strong performance in terms of housing delivery for 2024. However, demand continues to outpace supply despite considerable progress, with the average house price increasing in every county, with the exception of Monaghan, where house prices nationally are now averaging €381,749. Vacancies are at record low levels, but the total number of residential property transactions fell by 5.8% year on year.”

Annette Hughes, Director at EY Economic Advisory, said, “The substantial increase year-on-year in new address points and the almost 48,000 property transaction recorded in the year to May are encouraging signs for housing activity. When we dig into the details, we can see that suburban Dublin and the commuter town postcode areas like Naas (W91), Drogheda (A92) and Celbridge (W23) performed strongly on transactions. Regional postcode areas are also performing well, with the postcodes V94 in Limerick and H91 in Galway recording the highest transactions amongst the principal post town codes. While recorded construction activity is down slightly year-on-year, there has been a surge in construction commencement notices in recent months, driven largely by a number of policy changes to fast track housing development, indicating a robust pipeline of homes as we look to the future.”