JUST A FRACTION of newly-built housing is ending up on the open market in the country’s biggest cities, according to data released by the Central Stastics Office (CSO).

The picture is different for smaller cities and in Dublin’s commuter belt, where more than half of new homes are sold to people on the hunt for housing.

A large proportion of the new stock, such as apartment blocks, is being sold for build-to-rent developments or to Approved Housing Bodies for social housing.

It’s another example of the pressures facing would-be homeowners.

The gap between what’s built and what’s sold is most dramatic in Dublin and Cork.

Just 4% of newly-built homes saw sales completed in Dublin city – meaning that for 4,521 houses and apartments brought on stream last year, there were just 208 sold on the private market.

These developments are classed by the CSO as being located in the Dublin City Council area.

The proportion of houses coming to market has been falling steadily over the past decade, with Ireland increasingly building more properties for rent than for sale.

This was borne out when looking at the data for Dublin city, where 4,325 apartments were listed as being completed last year by the CSO. Of these, 150 have ended up on the open market so far.

While some may come to the market this year, the CSO has noted that “dwellings not intended for sale” are a feature of the build-to-rent sector.

In the neighbouring area overseen by Fingal County Council – which includes north Co Dublin and Blanchardstown to the west – a far greater 38% sales were conducted from more than 3,500 new homes.

Cork saw a remarkable 2% of sales last year out of newly-built homes: 30 sales out of 1,499 houses and apartments.

It’s somewhat more balanced in the smaller cities, where almost 30% of new builds made it to the market in Galway City – or 121 from 415 new homes.

In Waterford, one in four new homes were sold.

Dublin’s commuter belt saw some of the highest proportions of homes going to people on the private market rather than housing charities or businesses.

Wicklow and Kildare both eclipsed the 50% mark, while Co Louth saw 43% sales on the market from a total of 1,541 newly built homes.

Apartment developments have surged over the past decade, but a shift towards the build-to-rent sector has resulting in fewer than might be expected coming to the market for sale.

The data is based on Revenue’s stamp duty transaction figures and the CSO figures for the number of new dwellings per annum.

Stamp duty transactions are the taxes paid following a transfer of property, with these activities known as ‘executions’ – or sales where the purchase has been completed.

Department response

When contacted, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing said that the Government and Housing Minister James Browne are “relentlessly committed to ensuring a level playing field for traditional ‘family home’ buyers, including but not limited to” buyers entering the housing market for the first time.

“This is being done while also balancing the need to facilitate vital investment in high density apartments to respond to the need for housing in the rental market as well as for purchase,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that first time buyers purchased 7,544 new homes in the year to end December 2025, an increase of “almost 24%” year-on-year.

“Institutional investment is a normal facet of housing investment in our European neighbours and beyond, and is critical to achieving a sustainable housing supply,” the spokesperson said, referring to the role of investors for build-to-rent properties.

“Without it, activity in the housing market would be much reduced and the pressure already facing renters and prospective home-owners would increase significantly.”