Construction companies completed more than 21,000 homes in the Republic in 2019, a 10-year high but below the level needed to meet future demand for housing, according to estimates published on Tuesday.
A report from stockbrokers Goodbody says 21,500 homes were built here last year, the highest level in a decade and almost five times more than the 4,575 built at the recession's lowest point in 2013.
The figure is below the 26,500 homes that the Central Bank estimated last month the Republic should build annually to 2030 to meet likely future demand.
The Goodbody BER Housebuilding Tracker shows that 6,600 homes were completed in the final three months of last year. The overall 2019 total of 21,500 was 19 per cent ahead of the previous year.
Goodbody chief economist Dermot O’Learysaid the Republic’s house building industry consisted of different parts.
“The build-to-rent sector is driving apartment building, while the public sector and approved-housing bodies are contributing to a surge in social housing,” he explained.
Mr O’Leary added that in the private sector, builders offering homes at lower prices were growing sales significantly.
Is Dublin affordable?
Commuter counties surrounding Dublin, including Kildare and Wicklow, led the growth in new-home building.
That region, which the report dubs the “mid-east”, accounted for 5,316 new dwellings last year, a 36 per cent increase on 2018.
Goodbody says that buyers are looking for properties in these counties as many cannot afford to buy in Dublin.
Growth in Dublin itself was just 2 per cent, but it still accounted for the biggest single share of all completions at 7,055.
Goodbody expects developers to build 24,000 new homes in the Republic next year, bringing the number of completions closer to the level of demand forecast by the Central Bank.
