Report reveals rise in construction of residential builds in Cork

A NEW report has revealed that 2,734 residential buildings were under construction in Cork in December 2023, while 3,226 new address points were recorded across the city and county across the year.

The latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report, prepared by EY, found that of the total number of residential buildings under construction, 15.7% were in Dublin followed by Cork at 12%.

In the 12 months to December 2023, 28,742 new residential address points were added to the national GeoDirectory database, representing a slight increase of 0.8% compared to the corresponding period in December 2022.

More than half of the new address points (50.3%) were located in the Greater Dublin area encompassing Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, while Dublin itself accounted for more than a third (33.2%) of all new residential addresses. The report also revealed average rents per area, showing that Cork city’s average was €1,539, the seventh highest in the county, below the four Dublin regions, Wicklow and Galway city. Rents in county Cork averaged out at €1,159.

The residential vacancy rate in Cork was 3.9% in December 2023, in line with the national average, which dropped 0.1 percentage point to 3.9% over the course of 2023. This was the second consecutive report in which the residential vacancy rate has dipped below 4.0% and remains the lowest recorded by GeoDirectory since reporting started in 2013.

There were 81,449 vacant units identified nationwide, with Leitrim (12%), Mayo (10.7%) and Roscommon (10.4%) recording the highest levels of vacancies.

The GeoDirectory Residential Buildings report also found that the number of derelict residential address points fell by 7.9% in the 12 months to December 2023 with a total of 20,780 derelict units identified across the State.

There were 5,437 residential property transactions in Cork in the 12 months to October 2023, with an average property price of €339,066. When Dublin is excluded from the study, the national average house price falls to €300,319.

Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory said, the increase in the number of buildings under construction and new residential address points across the State was a “positive development.”

“The report has also identified a continued drop in the number of vacant and derelict properties, which would indicate that efforts and policies to bring these units into the housing stock are having an impact,” said Mr Keogh.