Demand for housing is now the second highest in Europe with prices surging
Demand for housing in this country is now the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands.
The banking lobby group said 17pc consumers in Ireland, or almost one in five, report that they were looking to rent or buy.
This is according to the February 2025 ECB Consumer Expectations Survey.
More than one in four renters were looking for accommodation. And a fifth of those with a mortgage were actively looking for new housing.
Banking and Payments Federation chief executive Brian Hayes said the strong demand for housing, especially among first-time buyers, was also evident in the fact that 17,144 applications were received by the Revenue Commissioners for Help-to-Buy scheme in the first four months of this year.
This is almost 5,000 more than in the same period of last year.
But supply is failing to come near to matching demand. Only one in 10 owner-occupiers said they were 'rather likely or very likely' to sell.
The latest Housing Market Monitor Q1 2025 from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) also shows that housing commencement numbers for the first four months of 2025 are only around 40pc of those in 2023.
They are now at similar levels to those seen in 2016, a fact that means it could be years before the housing crisis eases.
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Planning permissions declined by over 21pc between 2023 and last year, the banking lobby group's report shows.
Mr Hayes said Ireland has seen substantial population and employment growth in the past decade.
With that has come a sharp increase in housing demand, during a period where the supply of housing has fallen behind, he said.
'We know that Ireland's population increased by around 735,000 people between 2014 and 2024, while in the same period employment increased by nearly 739,000,' Mr Hayes added.
'Meanwhile, housing completions in Ireland declined in 2024 for the first time since 2013, excluding the period between 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic affected activity significantly.'
He said that on a rolling 12-months basis, a total of 30,356 units were completed to the end of March 2025 compared with 31,681 units during the 12 months ending March last year.
But at the same time there continues to be strong demand for mortgages, with 9,190 mortgage drawdowns in the first quarter of 2025, valued at €2.8bn.
'Updated housing requirements must be incorporated into the planning system as soon as possible,' Mr Hayes added:
Central Bank figures show that mortgage rates eased slightly in April, the third month in a row.
And the largest servicer of mortgages on behalf of vulture funds, Pepper, has promised more rate reduction for the 'mortgage prisoners' trapped with it.
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