Minister Noel Ahern announces 18.3% increase in house completions first nine months 2003

Minister Noel Ahern announces 18.3% increase in house completions in first nine months of 2003

House completions for the first nine months of 2003 are up 18.3% on last year, Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr. Noel Ahern, T.D., announced today (8th December).

Welcoming the continuation in record house completions, Minister Ahern unveiled that 47,758 units have been built in the year to date. Minister Ahern said that he will publish final figures for completions in 2003 early in the new year. "Based on the returns for the first nine months, 2003 is set to be the ninth successive year of record house completions", he said. In 2002, 57,695 units were completed.

"These figures are proof that the various Government measures to boost the supply of housing have been successful. The goal of Government has been to drive housing policies aimed at responding to the unprecedented demand for housing", he said.

For the first 9 months of this year, completions were up 16.2% in Dublin (to 10,500 units) and up 11.1% in the Greater Dublin Area (to 16,441 units) on the same period last year. House Guarantee Registrations are also up by 5.6% (41,184 units) in the first 9 months of this year.

The Minister particularly welcomed the increase in the level of local authority house building. Local authorities built 3,276 new houses in the first nine months of 2003 - an increase of 34.7% on the figure for end September 2002, with an additional 1,113 units being provided by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector, up 18.5% on the same period last year.

The Minister acknowledged that while there has been phenomenal growth in house completions for the last eight years, and some easing of house prices, the Government remain concerned at the level of house price inflation. Housing remains a key priority for the Government. "This Government will not shy away from a challenge and we remain committed to pursuing measures to improve availability and affordability of housing", the Minister said.

Between June and September 2003 quarters, nationally, new house prices increased by 1.3% but second-hand prices decreased by 0.4%. Similar comparisons for Dublin show that new house prices increased by 2% in this period while second-hand prices decreased by 4.5%. For September 2003 quarter, new house prices increased by 13.1% nationally and 10.7% in Dublin when compared to the same quarter last year. Similar comparisons for second-hand houses show increases of 16.1% nationally and 16.6% in Dublin. The average price of a new dwelling unit in the September quarter was €225,356 nationally and €295,158 in Dublin, and €266,444 nationally and €350,603 in Dublin for second-hand units.