Housing planning approvals drop 15% due to pandemic disruption
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The number of residential properties to be granted planning permission in the first half of this year fell by more than 15%, year-on-year, new figures from the CSO show.
In total, approved housing units numbered 18,113 across the first six months of 2021. Of these, 11,138 were apartments and 6,975 were houses.
The total represented a drop of 15.4% on the first half of 2020, the CSO said. The first half of this year saw a more stringent and fuller economic lockdown of the country due to the pandemic.
One-off houses accounted for 19% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in the first half of this year, the CSO figures show.
Number of dwelling units approved down 15.4% in the first two quarters of 2021https://t.co/Hx91Z9aHt5 #CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness #BusinessStatistics #BusinessNews pic.twitter.com/WXivgIgCMK
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) September 10, 2021
The number of apartment units approved decreased by 15.9% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. There was a decrease of 14.5% in houses approved in the first two quarters of 2021, the CSO said.
Apartments accounted for between 55% and 66% of total dwelling unit approvals in the first half.
The third quarter of 2019 was the first time more apartments than houses were granted planning permission; a trend which has continued ever since.
Meanwhile, the CSO said a total of 8,529 planning permissions have been granted for all developments in the current quarter.
Of these, just over 53% were for new builds, 29% were for extensions and just under 18% were for alterations and conversions.
There have been 3,886 housing units granted planning permission in the current quarter, the CSO said. Of those 10% – or 388 approvals – were in Co Cork.
Earlier this week, Michael Stanley – the chief executive of Cairn Homes, the country’s largest house builder – said getting to a point where 30,000 new houses are being built every year is “very achievable” in the short-term.
However, he said the Government's Housing for All plan – which envisages 300,000 new houses being built by the end of 2030 – will only succeed with improved Central Bank mortgage lending rules.
“In order for the Government’s plan to have the best chance of success, it is essential that it is complemented by Central Bank rules on mortgage lending which are more appropriate to today’s critical needs,” he said.
“A framework that remains prudent but gives thousands of prospective customers earning good salaries a greater opportunity to qualify for a mortgage is urgently needed," he said.