Do people in Ireland prefer to live in houses or apartments? We’d like to hear your view.
In an interview with Eoin Burke-Kennedy in The Irish Times, Michael Stanley, chief executive of Cairn Homes, said the narrative about Irish people not wanting to live in apartments makes him cringe. “I hear it on radio shows, in newspaper articles ... it’s the greatest piece of misinformation that’s put out there,” Stanley said.
What do you think? Would you prefer to live in an apartment with less maintenance? Or would you prefer the space and freedom offered by owning a house?
As Burke-Kennedy pointed out, Stanley’s “bugbear” for the country’s appetite (or lack thereof) for apartment-living may have something to do with the fact that apartments have become Cairn’s main output. They comprised 60 per cent of the company’s sales last year.
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The Cairn chief executive added that he’s not suggesting the sole answer to Ireland’s housing crisis is to build more apartments – just that it’s a significant piece of the pie.
According to Eurostat, the Republic had the highest rate of people living in houses in the EU in 2022, with 89.7 per cent living in houses versus 10.2 per cent in apartments. The EU average was 51.9 per cent compared to 47.5 per cent.
As things stand, the lack of supply of new housing to meet demand is driving asking prices for all types of new homes .
But, setting aside that harsh reality for the purposes of ascertaining would-be homebuyers’ preference, if the level of new-homes supply was not an issue and pricing returned to more affordable levels, which would you prefer to own and occupy long-term, a house or an apartment?
Please let us know what you think in the form below and make your comments as specific as possible (up to 250 words), explaining the reason for your position.
Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential.
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