BY TONY KAVANAGH

After a tumultuous 2020, and a somewhat disorderly 2021, many of us felt that we deserved stability this year.

However, eight months on, stable is perhaps the last word one could use to describe 2022.

A war in Ukraine, rapidly rising consumer prices, supply chain challenges and a 0.5% rise in interest rates have all served to challenge both our economy and indeed our housing market.

Looking at the property market nationally and in Galway in the year so far, perhaps the most prominent fallout from the global challenges lies in the construction sector.

Following an uptick in construction activity in 2021, bolstered by the easing of public health restrictions, commencement activity has slowed this year.

Having peaked at almost 35,000 units commenced in the twelve months to March 2022, the following months recorded a steady decline, with significant issues surrounding building cost inflation hampering activity.

This slowdown in activity will impact construction outputs levels in the second half of 2022 and perhaps most worryingly 2023. Such a slowdown in activity, coming at a time of rapidly rising population is particularly frustrating.

The release of the preliminary figures for the 2022 Census, underscores the scale of the housing crisis. This data highlights the need to build over 50,000 new homes each year until 2036, if we are to even bring Ireland in line with the European average in household size. This is more than twice as many as we are currently building.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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