The New Homes Construction Survey 2022 is out now. Download the survey here.
Issues such as the shortage of development land, planning delays and spiralling labour and material costs are raising questions about the new homes construction industry’s ability to deliver sustained improvements in the number of completions over the medium-term.
84% of respondents believe that the supply of residential development land is tight. Furthermore, the length of time required to obtain planning permission is a significant concern, as 40% of respondents report setting aside between 11-15 months to receive a grant of planning permission from a local authority, while a further 42% are setting aside more than 16 months. Additionally, 61% of respondents report setting aside up to 12 months in the event that their planning is subject to appeal or judicial review, while 39% are setting aside more than 12 months.
Finally, the war in Ukraine, as well as Covid-19 and Brexit, have put increasing strain on the supply of labour and materials with prices rising on average by 15% and 24% respectively during the past year according to our analysis. Respondents are unanimous that the scale of these increases are impacting the pricing and completion timelines for current projects as well as the viability of future projects.
Robert O’Connor, Senior Research Analyst, Knight Frank Ireland
