GeoDirectory records

Wednesday, 11th July 2012

GeoDirectory records 72% decrease in new buildings in Waterford in first half of 2012

58 new residential and commercial buildings were recorded in Waterford for the first six months of 2012, according to new figures released today by GeoDirectory. The figures represent a year-on-year decrease of 72% compared to the same period in 2011 when 206 new buildings were added in the county.

GeoDirectory was jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) to create and manage Ireland's only complete database of commercial and residential buildings. The figures are recorded through a combination of the An Post network of 5,600 delivery staff working with OSi.

Across the country, GeoDirectory recorded 5,620 new buildings, consisting of 4,837 residential buildings, 590 commercial buildings and 193 dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial components. The new additions for the first six months of 2012 bring the total number of new buildings in the Republic of Ireland to 1,889,143.

New data shows that 658 or 12% of this new commercial and residential stock are vacant. Waterford has a vacancy rates for new building additions of 7%.

The 58 new buildings identified in Waterford were composed of 49 residential buildings, 5 commercial buildings and 4 were dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial elements. These new additions bring the total number of buildings in Waterford to 52,140.

The decrease in new building additions in Waterford in the first half of 2012 of 72% is a larger decrease than the 23% fall recorded nationally.

Seven counties (Carlow, Clare, Cork, Galway, Leitrim, Tipperary and Offaly) across the country bucked the national trend experiencing an increase in new building additions compared to the same period in 2011. The average increase recorded across these counties was 106%, with the largest increase of 323% being recorded in Leitrim, with 127 new buildings added.

The highest increase in new buildings was recorded in Cork City and County where 777 residential and 69 commercial properties were completed during the first half of the year. In contrast, Kerry recorded the lowest number of new additions and the largest year on year decrease of 91%, with 30 residential and just 5 commercial properties completed in the first six months of 2012.

Commenting on the figures, Dara Keogh, CEO, GeoDirectory said, "Current figures for new additions represent a 94% decrease from the peak in 2007, when GeoDirectory identified 60,781 new commercial and residential buildings across the country. The new figures have identified a vacancy rate nationally of 12% for new building additions, which in effect would mean that 9 out of 10 new commercial and residential buildings are occupied.

This positive trend is supported by the growth in new additions across seven counties, with Cork City and County having the highest increase in new building added of 777 in the Republic of Ireland. Of these counties, Carlow and Offaly have built on the growth in new additions recorded for the same period in 2011. ”