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Apartments lead jump in planning permissions

Official figures show that the number of new homes granted planning permission in the third quarter (Q3) of this year was up by 43% compared with the same period last year.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that the 9,662 dwellings approved in the quarter were almost evenly split between houses and apartments.

The figures show, however, that approvals for apartments more than doubled compared with Q3 last year, while houses recorded a more modest 10% increase.

Almost two-thirds of the apartments approved were in the Dublin area.

CSO warning

Approvals for one-off houses were down 25% compared with a year earlier, but there was a 32% increase in permissions for multi-deveopment houses.

For the first nine months of 2023, there was overall growth of 13% in the total number of dwelling units approved, when compared with the same period in 2022.

The CSO has warned that the number of new homes granted planning permission can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, while changes to applications processes for Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) and related issues in An Bord Pleanála in 2022 may have affected the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.