Louth had third lowest vacancy rate in 2022 according to latest GeoDirectory report

Louth had the third lowest residential vacancy rate in Ireland in December 2022, according to the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report released this week.

The study of residential property data, prepared in association with EY, found that the residential vacancy rate in Louth was 2.3% in December 2022, which was lower than the national average of 4.0%. 97.4% of the dwellings were occupied and the remaining 0.4% were holiday homes.  

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 database is the most comprehensive address database of dwellings in the Republic of Ireland. It 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 report provides some insights on the outturn for stock levels and vacancy rates across the country, as well as on construction activity, residential transactions and property prices. According to the report, 1,028 residential buildings were under construction in Louth in December 2022.

It also found that in the twelve months to December 2022, 1,070 new residential address points were added to the GeoDirectory database in Louth. It represents an increase of 93% compared to the corresponding period in December 2021.

In percentage terms, Sligo (150%), Tipperary (101%) and Louth (93%) recorded the highest YoY growth in the number of new addresses added, accounting for about 6% i.e., total increase of 1779 address points over the year. A total of 744 housing commencements were also recorded in Louth in the 12 months to November 2022.

The report found that the number of derelict residential address points fell by 4.8% in the twelve months to December 2022, with a total of 21,481 derelict units scattered nationwide. This total is 4.8% lower than the corresponding total in Q4 2021. The report states that 1.1% of the derelict houses are in Louth, suggesting a total of 236 derelict houses in Louth.

Looking at the type of residential dwellings in Louth, while detached dwellings remained the most prevalent residence type in
Q4 2022 (30.7% of the national total), followed by terraced dwellings (28.2%), and semidetached (24.7%), Louth had the second lowest prevalence of them in the county, at 24% of houses in the county being detached.

Louth had the second greatest share of terraced dwellings however, at 32.1%, Dublin having the greatest share, with 49.2%. Looking at apartments, 5% of the total residence stock in Louth were apartments in Q4 2022.

In terms of residential property transactions, in the twelve months to October 2022, there were 1,346 residential property transactions in Louth with an average property price of €268,722. This was lower than the national average of €354,060. 25.2% of the transactions were for new dwellings. 

695 of the transactions were in Dundalk, with an average property price of €266,763. 24.9% of the transactions were for new dwellings.

Finally, looking at rental costs, the standardised average monthly rent in new tenancies in Louth was €1,220. Nationally, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown recorded the highest standardised average rent at €2,231 per month, while the lowest was in Donegal
at €783 per month.