Home planning approval numbers rise but lag 2020 level
Of Quarter Was 2020 In The First The Permissions Planning Number Below Of The Granted Homes 13,000
The number of planning permissions for houses and apartments has risen in the first quarter from a year earlier but is still running well below the comparative quarter in 2020, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, new Central Statistics Office figures suggest.
The figures show that more than 8,460 permissions were granted in the first quarter for all types of homes, including apartments and houses, and covering permits for one-off homes as well as large development sites.
That means that the number of permits has risen by 21.5% from the comparable first quarter last year. However, the number of planning permissions was below the total of around 13,000 homes granted in the first quarter of 2020. The CSO highlighted that, for the first time since the spring quarter in 2019, there were more permissions granted for houses than apartments in the first quarter this year.
Almost half of all the permits granted for apartments were in Co Dublin, the CSO said. The number of one-off houses granted permission, at just over 2,080, was the highest since the third quarter of 2009, it said.
The figures for planning permissions are closely watched for early indications of the number of new homes likely to be built amid the housing crisis.
Separately, new German figures give an insight into the potential shortages of building materials, amid the fallout of the Ukraine war and the headaches facing builders from delays with global supply chains.
Germany's Ifo Institute said the shortages of materials on German building sites had reached their highest levels since 1991.
"Due to rising construction costs and higher interest rates, more orders are being cancelled, especially in residential construction,” Ifo said.