Lowest number of house completions in Dundalk since 2017

Dundalk saw the lowest number of dwelling completions in the first quarter of this year (Q1), since the second quarter (Q2) 2017 according to figures released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

52 dwellings were completed in Q1 2023 in the area with the eircode routing code, A91, which refers to Dundalk. It is down from 59 in the final quarter of last year, and also down from the 80 completed in the first quarter of last year. The last period in which a lower number of completions occurred in Dundalk was 2017, when 31 were completed in Q2 2017.

The number of completions in Dundalk last year was similar to the previous year, with 377 dwelling completions in 2022, compared to 375 in 2021.

Looking at north Louth overall, 49 dwellings were completed in the two Local Electoral Areas, Dundalk-Carlingford and Dundalk South, in Q1 2023. 29 were completed in Dundalk-Carlingford and 20 in Dundalk South. 

It is down from 56 in the final quarter of 2022, when 32 were completed in Dundalk-Carlingford and 24 in Dundalk South. It is also down on the 76 completed in Q1 2022, when 29 were completed in Dundalk-Carlingford and 47 in Dundalk South.

In Ardee, 35 dwellings were completed in Q1 2023, up from 32 in the final quarter of last year, and over double the 17 completed in the first quarter of last year. In total, Ardee saw 93 dwellings completed in 2022, down from 149 in 2021.

The latest figures released by the CSO also gives some detail on the type of dwellings built in the Louth County Council local authority.

Of the 180 dwellings completed in Louth in Q1 2023, 40 were single houses, 66 were scheme houses and 74 were apartments. It is down 20 on the 200 dwellings completed in the final quarter of 2022, when 48 single houses, 140 scheme houses and 12 apartments were completed.

It is also down on the 199 dwellings completed in the first quarter of last year, when 28 single houses, 153 scheme houses and 18 apartments were completed.

In total 789 dwellings were completed in the Louth County Council area in 2022, comprising 143 single houses, 590 scheme houses and 56 apartments. The number of dwellings completed in Louth last year was up on 2021 however, on the 669 completed in 2021.

Nationally, there were 6,716 new dwelling completions over January, February, and March (Q1) 2023, a rise of 19.1% on the same three months of 2022. 

Apartment completions in Q1 2023 stood at 2,427, up 41.0% from Q1 2022. There were 3,092 scheme dwelling completions in Q1 2023, up 10.1% from Q1 2022, with 1,197 single dwellings completed, up 7.7% from Q1 2022.