And, just his week a further €3bn for water, energy and housing infrastructure was signalled by government, prior to the coming budget in October when housing issues and supports are likely to surface under many headings.

“Over the last few years, we have lots of interventions and endeavours in reforming the housing system, and whilst progress has been made we need to prioritise water infrastructure and energy,” says new homes specialist Paul Hannon of Sherry FitzGerald, who says they have sight of a number of important launches in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), Cork, Limerick and Galway this side of Christmas. (Property website Myhome.ie currently lists 270 new homes developments nationally, with 27 new house schemes in Cork alone: website daft.ie has 300 schemes listed.) 

That strong activity was evident all year “without much of a seasonal lull,” Mr Hannon adds noting that their Cork office ‘sale agreed’ over 150 new homes in August “and that’s more than the last four Augusts combined.” 

 They’re on track for up to 500 sales in the greater Cork area by the end of this year, vs 275 the previous year.

In terms of freeing up bottlenecks and disincentives, the temporary waiver of development contributions being extended to April 2025 and the Uisce Eireann connection charge rebate “are aiding and creating viability where viability was challenged, while the long-awaited Planning & Development Bill is in the later stages of becoming legislation and there has been some improvement in resourcing in the planning system generally,” Mr Hanon adds on the ‘glass half full’ front.

However, on the ‘glass half empty’ side of the equation he says there’s a need for much greater ambition, which will place greater demand on our infrastructure, schools, communities and housing system: “There can be no cranes without drains and the importance of the National Planning Framework review can’t be overstated.” 

 As a fresh government beckons, cards have been marked in advance on routes forward, including “some very welcome analysis and independent research on what’s required with the Report of the Housing Commission being of particular importance,” observes Sherry Fitz New Homes director Paul Hannon, forecasting “the next few months will be ‘noisy,’ with interest rate changes and probable differing opinions within election manifestos on further systemic reform required.”

 He gives a welcome too for a recent joint publication by the Department of Housing and Department of Finance “acknowledging the need to attract foreign direct investment into housing and not put-up barriers to entry.” 

 State supports and initiatives, such as the First Home Scheme (5,400 approvals, with interest up 40% in the first half of this year,) and Help to Buy (24,000 applications to July and 5,000 claims paid) have in themselves found increased ‘purchase’, and are better understood and availed of.

Also involved on the front line of selling new home is associate new homes director Elizabeth Hegarty of Savills’ Cork office who says that as first-time buyers (FTBs) remain the predominant buyer and the most active buyer type in the private market “more than ever, we see the importance of the government grants to enable FTB get on the property ladder: this remains a big driver in the new homes market.”

 Savills had probably the most exciting new home launch of 2024 in Cork, Carin’s Bayly scheme in Douglas, a sizeable development after 20 years in the wings and changes of site ownership.

Even though the numbers released were low (just 30 in this first public launch, out of 472 in all across all tenure types) the interest in Bayly was huge. Over 4,000 names were pre-registered, hopeful buyers queued overnight in cars and that was despite prices starting from €445,000 for a three-bed home. Four-beds there, priced from €560,000 were above the price caps for Help to Buy.

“The price caps, especially in the county at €425,000, are becoming an issue on some schemes especially for four-bedroom homes as these tend to be priced outside the cap in a lot of cases,” Ms Hegarty outlines saying there was a shift towards three-beds in such schemes as a result.

The most active price point in Savills’ experience this year is between €350,000 and €425,000, across c 20 launches this year, including two Affordable Home Purchase Schemes in conjunction with Cork City Council, seeing 140 buyers — including individuals, first-time buyers and fresh start applicants — get homes.

Buyers, especially FTBs, have had to refine expectations, casting their net “a little wider in terms of their property search criteria. In most cases, budget is the main determining factor however we have also seen an increase of buyers looking to live in estates where friends or families are already living. We are seeing an increase in the number of first-time buyers who despite using the government grants are priced out of a new home and will have no choice but to look to the second-hand market to secure a home despite having to enter a bidding situation in a lot of cases,” adds Ms Hegarty.

The second-hand market has its own drivers too, primarily where shortage of supply and overarching demand does indeed see bidding to some very strong sums: whatever about the new home sector with its high construction, land and delivery costs, the last thing that second-hand market needs is further, inflationary help to buy-style supports.