More than half of local authorities must at least double their housing output if they are to meet new Government targets set out in the revised National Planning Framework, according to Ireland’s largest estate agent, Sherry FitzGerald.
The Government issued new guidelines to local authorities in July setting out the housing requirements demanded of each to meet the targets, which collectively plan for about 55,000 new homes annually on average between now and 2034.
The targets were designed to be consistent with the 50:50 city versus regional growth distribution set out in the framework, and local authorities were instructed to update their housing targets accordingly.
However, an analysis by Sherry Fitzgerald in its Irish residential market review for the summer suggests meeting the targets will represent a “significant challenge”.
RM Block
The estate agent carried out a comparison of recent completions annually between from 2022 and 2024 in each local authority, which showed that 17 of the 31 will have to at least double their current housing output to hit their new targets.
The scale of adjustment varies considerably. Longford County Council will need to increase output by 249 per cent, while South Dublin County Council faces a more modest requirement of 22 per cent.
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The report also shows 14,715 second-hand properties were listed for sale nationwide in July, equating to just 0.7 per cent of Ireland’s private housing stock.
While this reflects an improvement on July 2024, when 12,784 properties were advertised, more than 54,000 properties were listed for sale when data collection began in January 2010.
Counties which had an advertised stock level below the national average of 0.7 per cent in July include Monaghan, Carlow, Limerick, Cavan, Offaly, Clare, Kilkenny, Meath, Kildare and Tipperary.
Limerick City and County Council has seen an average of just 853 new dwelling completions over the past three years. The report said this shortfall has impacted second-hand supply, with just 474 second-hand homes advertised for sale in July – just 0.6 per cent of the overall total private housing stock.
Notably, Limerick is one of the counties with the highest required increase to meet the new targets set out in July, requiring a 205 per cent uplift in output annually.
Elsewhere, Monaghan has accounted for just 0.9 per cent of new dwelling completions on average over the past three years, at 275 units. This “once again impacted second-hand supply” with just 89 second-hand homes advertised for sale in July, or 0.4 per cent of total private stock.
“Increasing the volume of new homes delivered each year is crucial to increasing the availability of second-hand stock in the market,” the report said.
More broadly, Sherry FitzGerald said new dwelling completions this year are expected to exceed 2024 levels.
“Over the past nine years, completions have typically been weighted towards the second half of the year, which on average has accounted for 57 per cent of annual output,” it said. “If this pattern continues, total completions in 2025 could reach approximately 35,230 units.
“However, given the concentration of apartment completions in the first half of the year – particularly in the second quarter – it is possible that the second half may not be as strong.
“Allowing for this, and applying a 5 per cent margin of error, completions are more realistically estimated at around 33,500 units.”
If achieved, this would represent an improvement on the 30,206 completions recorded in 2024. However, it would still fall well short of the 62,000 units Sherry FitzGerald has projected are needed to meet demand in 2025.
