The number of apartment units granted planning permission jumped by more than 200 per cent in the third quarter, new figures show.
Planning permissions were granted for 8,018 dwelling units in total, up 69.2 per cent compared with 4,739 units for the same period in 2017.
Permissions were granted for 4,879 houses, a rise of 29.6 per cent versus the same three-months last year.
In addition, permission was granted for 3,139 apartment units, up 221.9 per cent on the 975 recorded a year earlier.
In 2017, planning permission was only granted for approximately 5,000 apartments, nationwide and for just 20,000 dwellings in total.
One-off housing accounted for 17.7 per cent of all dwelling units granted permission in the third quarter.
The total number of planning permissions granted across every type of development was 7,440, as against 6,884 for the same period in 2017.
Total floor area planned was 2,010 thousand square metres. Of this, 54.6 per cent was for new dwellings, 32.5 per cent for other new constructions and 12.9 per cent for extensions.