New Homes:Wealth of stylish new apartments on the horizon
Is the future of Irish housing to be apartments? Most likely, in the country’s more urbanised areas at least – the move is one, for better or worse, as controversial design changes are now allowed, which will increase supply, but in many cases will lower the living quality in some units, with the aim of reducing build and entry level costs.Few will argue that higher density housing, and apartments, sit best in urban cores, and in Cork the momentum is now behind the likes of apartments via the Land Development Agency, Cork City Council, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and at direct to market at Horgan’s Quay north of the river (BAM/Clarendon developers), at Centre Park Road south of the river with Glenveagh and also in Blackrock village.Apartments are also popping up in areas like Blackpool especially, and at Douglas Cairn Homes Bayly’s ‘The View’, where the Price Register shows prices paid in 2025 in the €265,000 to €340,000 bracket.Elizabeth Hegarty, divisional director, residential, Savills. Elizabeth Hegarty, divisional director, residential, Savills, said: “Cairn’s apartment development The View in Douglas saw 96 apartments come to the market under the Croi Conaithe scheme, ending the drought on apartment development in Cork in many years. This scheme unlocked a huge cohort of buyers in the market and enabled them to purchase a one- or two-bedroom apartment in Douglas.” Like other agents in the sector, Savills saw their 2025 sales figures rise 50% over 2024 as stock levels increased, and Ms Hegarty reveals they added 800 would-be buyers to their database since the start of 2026. First-time buyers make up c.88% of Savills’s new enquiries, of which 75% put the ‘staple’ three-bed semi as their preferred property type; 55% listed a three-bed end townhouse as a preference; 27% said a two-bed townhouse was aimed at, 34% listed the four-bed semi as a goal and, not unsurprisingly 84% of buyers plan on using one or both of the Help to Buy or First Home Scheme to assist them in their route to home ownership. When it comes to apartment preferences for buyers coming into 2026, Ms Hegarty said the two-bed standard was the preference, at 12.3%, one-beds were at 2.7% and three-beds were similar at 2.4% but she cautions ”we only started noting apartment interest after The View sales in second half of the year, as there was no option before this, therefore the numbers will be a bit skewed. “It’s great to so busy, and to have such a great range of options for house buyers,” she adds. Paul Hannon, director and head of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes Munster, Paul Hannon, director and head of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes Munster, says there’s an increasing variety of pathways to home ownership, mainly due to Government interventions such as those announced in the Delivering Homes: Building Communities housing plan in 2025, describing them as “systemic and ambitious, and will over time yield results. The VAT reduction for apartments, and the emphasis on infrastructure is being met with enthusiasm by the house building, developer and institutional sector.” ”Interestingly, 20% of our sales in January were new apartments, typically supported by the Croi Conaithe subsidy, a trend which we expect to continue and grow and we expect more ‘Compact Settlement’ developments coming to the market over the next number of months,” states Mr Hannon, revealing the next block comprising 194 apartments in Glenveagh’s Blackrock Villas section of the old Ursuline convent site “are due to come to the market in the coming weeks”. On the wider front, Sherry Fitz’s Mr Hannon said: “We expect an increase in output in 2026 and are much more certain of greater inroads and higher numbers of homes being delivered over the next few years. The priorities of government in creating and servicing sufficient supply of zoned land and creating the right environment for investment are clear and appropriate.” Suzanne Tyrrell, director with Cohalan Downing, is also upbeat about the supply pipeline. She notes that national planning regulation changes for houses and apartments (Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, issued by the Department of Housing) will “enable higher density housing and faster delivery, particularly in cities and towns.” New children's woodland playgound and outdoor exercise park area on the Marina Promenade, beside the River Lee. Picture: Larry Cummins “Looking ahead, there are encouraging signs that more homes will continue to come to market, particularly in suburban and county locations. Apartment development is also beginning to gather pace in Cork city with the support of Government initiatives designed to address viability issues in apartment construction,” says Ms Tyrrell
