Increase in house building in commuter-belt counties
According to a recent CIF report, more new houses are being built nationwide than this time last year. Kildare has seen the sharpest increase in new projects, with a 203% increase in new residential units at the “commencement” stage. In addition, 176 new homes were recorded in the first two months of the year, compared to 58 in the same period last year. Of these, over 70% were social housing units.
Work began on a total of 2,175 new homes nationwide between January and February, an overall increase of 27% in the last year. The number of developer-led projects increased dramatically, with over 2,000 new units registered in the first three months of the year, a 75% increase on 2016. The vast majority of houses were registered in Dublin, with commuter-belt counties Meath and Kildare following behind.
Outside of Dublin, Meath was the most popular place to build, with 288 new homes registered. This represented a 157% jump from last year. Leitrim and Carlow saw the fewest new developments, with each county registering just five new units in the first three months of the year.
The CIF confirmed that the increase of new homes was set to continue for the remainder of 2017 but noted that “housing supply will remain as a key issue confronting industry and Government.”
