My Department publishes a range of datasets relating to housing market activity on the statistics area of its website. Details of commencement notices received by each of the 31 local authorities are published as a monthly series which can be accessed through the following weblink: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-building-and-private-rented/construction-activity-starts.
The latest Monthly Housing Activity Report (March 2018), which is available on www.rebuildingireland.ie, is showing continued positive trends in residential construction activity and is evidence that the targeted supply-side interventions under Rebuilding Ireland are beginning to work. The report includes, where available, sub-totals for the Mid-East area which comprises the counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. The most recent headline figures show that:
- In the year to end February 2018, commencement notices for over 18,500 new homes were submitted nationally, an annual increase of 41%. 3,172 of these were in the Mid-East Area, representing an annual increase of 45% in that region.
- Planning permissions for 20,776 homes were granted to end-December 2017, up 27% year on year. 4,530 of these were in the Mid-East Area, representing an annual increase of 72% in that region.
- In the year to end February 2018, Registrations for Homebond, an insurance scheme that relates primarily to multiple unit housing schemes, totalled 9,521, an annual increase of 46%. 2,279 of these were in the Mid-East Area, representing an annual increase of 40% in that region.
The next Monthly Housing Activity Report is expected to be published shortly.
Finally, as regards the outlook for the coming years, all indicators and estimates point towards a continued increase in output. For example, the Central Bank in its Quarterly Bulletin (Q2 2018), which is available at the following weblink: https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/quarterly-bulletins/qb-archive/2018/quarterly-bulletin---qb2-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=4, forecasts that both housing and non-residential building should continue to recover strongly. The Bank has forecast growth for the construction sector as a whole of 14.8% and 11.7% for 2018 and 2019, respectively.