THE residential vacancy rate in Limerick was 4.5 per cent in June 2022 — higher than the national residential vacancy rate of 4.2 per cent, according to figures released in the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report.
The twice-annual residential buildings report, prepared by EY, found that a total of 86,708 residential buildings were classified as vacant across Ireland by GeoDirectory – a 5.9 per cent drop when compared to the previous year.
In Limerick, 709 residential buildings were under construction in June 2022. Nationally, residential construction activity accelerated in the first half of the year with 22,390 residential buildings under construction in June 2022. The number of buildings under of construction was 18.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2021.
Of the total number, 17.4 per cent were located in Dublin, 14.2 per cent in Kildare and 12 per cent in Cork. Notably, the year-on-year increase of buildings under construction in Kildare was 74.4 per cent.
A total of 864 new residential address points were added to the GeoDirectory database in Limerick in the 12 months to June this year.
Nationally, a total of 34,198 new residential addresses were added to the GeoDirectory database in the twelve months to June 2022. The number of residential property transactions increased by 13.5 per cent in the twelve months to May 2022, representing an additional 5,500 transactions on the corresponding figure for the previous 12 months.
In Limerick, there were also 1,605 residential property transactions, 7.8 per cent of which were new dwellings. The average property price in the county was €242,866.
Commenting on the findings of the GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said that the level of residential construction has increased significantly over the past twelve months as Covid-19 public health measures on the construction sector were gradually eased then removed.
“This activity indicates a strong pipeline of residential properties that we would expect to enter the market in the months ahead.”
“The GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report found that the number of vacant properties has also fallen in the last year, although when combined with derelict properties, there are still over 100,000 potential properties which could re-enter the market,” Mr Keogh concluded.
