Eighty per cent increase in new Westmeath addresses last year

There was an 80 percent increase in the number of new residential address points in Westmeath added to the GeoDirectory database last year.

According to the GeoDirectory annual report for 2022, a total of 413 new residential address points were added to the GeoDirectory database in Westmeath in 2022, which represents an increase of 80% compared to the corresponding period in December 2021 when 230 new residential address points were added.

Nationally, a total of 28,510 residential address points were added to the GeoDirectory database. Over half (52.8%) of the new residential address points were located in the Greater Dublin Area of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

The highest year-on-year increases in terms of new residential address points were recorded in Sligo, which was up 150% in twelve months, followed by Tipperary (+ 101.0%) and Louth (93.0%).

The report also found that 382 residential buildings were under construction in Westmeath at the end of last year, while the vacancy rate locally was 4.5%.

The national average vacancy rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to 4.0% in December 2022, the lowest figure recorded by GeoDirectory to date. The highest residential vacancy rates were located in the west of the country, with Leitrim (12.2%), Mayo (11.2%) and Roscommon (10.7%) all recording residential vacancy rates of over 10.0%.

At 1.2%, Dublin recorded the lowest residential vacancy rate in the country in December 2022, with counties within the capital’s commuter belt all registering notably low vacancy rates, Kildare (1.3%), Louth (2.3%) and Meath (2.4%).

The GeoDirectory Residential Buildings report also found that the number of derelict residential address points fell by 4.8% in the twelve months to December 2022. In total, there were 21,481 derelict units identified nationwide, with the highest proportion found in counties along the west coast, Mayo (13.5%), Donegal (11.9%) and Galway (8.7%).

In the twelve months to October 2022, there were 915 residential property transactions in Westmeath with an average property price of €246,776. This was lower than the national average of €354,060

The average residential property price increased by 9.5% to €352,083 in the twelve months to October 2022, with the average price rising in every county.

The average cost of a residential property in Dublin was €526,910, while Longford was the county with the lowest average price (€162,990). When Dublin is excluded from the study, the national average house price falls to €270,855.

A total of 47,716 residential properties were purchased across Ireland in the 12 months to October 2022, an increase of 3,606 transactions on the previous year. Almost one-in-five of all residential property transactions in the state involved a new dwelling (18.2%), with the highest proportion of new dwellings purchased in Kildare (43.5%), Meath (36.6%) and Wicklow (34.8%).

Commenting on the findings of the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory said “The data shows that construction activity and supply of housing stock increased significantly in 2022, but it is still lagging well behind the current rate of demand. The number of residential buildings under construction and additions to the housing stock over the past twelve months would indicate that the sector has moved past the disruption brought about by Covid-19.”

Annette Hughes, Director of EY Economic Advisory Services said: “At a national level, the residential vacancy rate of 4.0% is the lowest recorded by GeoDirectory to date. However, this figure highlights a national imbalance of low vacancy rates and high demand in Dublin and surrounding counties, contrasted by considerably higher vacancy rates in the west of the country.”