THE NUMBER OF residential units under construction has fallen by 3.2% compared to last year with average house prices increasing by €3,643 (1.2%) up to May. 

Data gathered by GeoDirectory shows that 16,617 residential address points were added to the its database between June 2019 and June 2020 – a 32.9% drop on 2019′s figure of 24,773.

Meanwhile, there were 13,661 residential buildings under construction in Ireland in June 2020, compared to 14,107 last year, according to Geowise, indicating Covid-19′s initial impact on Ireland’s housing supply.

In Dublin, construction was down 10.2% since June last year.

According to Geowise – which was set up by An Post and Ordinance Survey Ireland and maps dwellings in Republic of Ireland -  of 16,617 new address points recorded between June 2019 and June 2020, over half (50.5%) were located in Greater Dublin Area of Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

The residential vacancy rate, meanwhile, reduced slightly (0.3%) with 25 out of 26 counties noting a decline in vacancy. 

The three highest vacancy rates were found in The West of Ireland; Leitrim has Ireland’s highest vacancy rate (14.6%), followed by Roscommon (12.6%) and Mayo (12.5%).

In total, 41,363 residential property transactions took place between June 2019 and June 2020.

Of that, 18.8% were new dwellings, representing a drop of 7.6% from 2019. 

In Dublin, 13,005 residential property transactions took place – 1,633 less than 2019. Counties with the fewest transactions include Monaghan (268), Leitrim (307) and Longford (325).

The average house price, meanwhile, increased by €3,643 (1.2%) to €296,758 over the past 12 months. Excluding Dublin, Ireland’s average house price stands at €230,492. 

Earlier this month, a report from Daft.ie showed that the average price of a home in Ireland in June was 3.3% lower than the same time last year.

Rents, meanwhile, have risen but only slightly with an increase of 0.2%, according to the report. 

The Covid-19 crisis has seen a large degree of volatility in the sale price of homes in Ireland, with April seeing a large fall before rising again in May, the Daft.ie report noted. 

The report said: “The average listed sale price nationwide fell by 0.5% in June, having risen by 3.8% in May.”

Speaking today, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory Dara Keogh said: “This report shows the impact that Covid-19 has had on housing supply in under six months.

“For the first time in several years, we have seen a drop in the number of new address points added to the GeoDirectory and a fall in construction activity compared to the previous year.

“Residential property transactions have also declined across the country. Time will tell whether this is just a temporary stalling of supply and demand, or if it is evidence of a long-term change,” he said.