The year has been off to a strong start for our New Homes team nationally, with early volumes demonstrated across a wide variety of price points. In 2025, Sherry FitzGerald New Homes sold over 2,200 homes, primarily concentrated in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA ), Cork, Limerick and Galway with about twenty percent in the regional towns. Across the country in 2026, we have sale-agreed 50 per cent more homes in January/February compared to the same period in 2025.
In Galway city and county, there has been a real lack of meaningful supply delivered in recent years. Demand from purchasers for new homes has remaining extremely high. Completions for new builds has slowly increased over the last number of years, albeit from an extremely low base. In 2025, there were 1,478 new homes delivered, up from 1,235 in the previous year. Out of the total number completed in 2025, there were only 390 new homes transacted in the private sale market in County Galway, with the balance being made up of self builds and social and affordable homes. One cause for concern was commencements dropped back significantly in Galway during 2025, which will have a short-term impact on delivery. Only 1,021 new builds started during the year, a 62 per cent decrease on commencements in 2024. One stark figure shows Galway city having only 168 units started last year, down from 1,154 in 2024. The temporary development contribution waiver introduced by the Government to stimulate development and that expired at the end of December 2024 would have had an impact on the above numbers.
Given the lack of supply in the city, we are seeing a shift in the demand profile with strong interest in the outer commuter belts where homes are more viable and affordable and falling within the Help-to-Buy and First Homes scheme price ceilings. Since the Help to Buy, was launched in 2017 there have been some 137,773 applications but just 60,516 claims with the cap of €500,000 remaining as is for the past eight years. 2,917 of the total claims have been in Galway. There have been some further tweaks to the First Home Scheme in January that will assist buyers and aid viability, where price ceilings for both Galway city and county have increased to €475,000 and €450,000 respectively. We are seeing a much greater awareness of the First Home Scheme amongst our buyers. Viability is now achievable almost nationwide and while we are most active in the city and immediate suburbs, we are increasingly looking at developments with our clients in the larger regional towns such as Athenry, Tuam and Loughrea, locations that were less viable circa 12 to 24 months ago.
Government interventions announced in the Delivering Homes Building Communities housing plan late last year are systemic and ambitious and will over time yield results. The VAT reduction for apartments and emphasis on infrastructure is being met with enthusiasm by the house building, developer and institutional sector.
The availability of zoned and serviced land is a key pillar for the industry, there is momentum in the system now which will enable and activate supply over the coming years. The Minister for Housing issued a directive to all local authorities to free up serviced land for development and in February, Galway County Council become the third local authority in the country to actively rezone land, mainly by releasing Residential Phase 2 lands to now be considered for development. While creating more zoned land will provide new opportunities, the actual delivery will depend on significant infrastructure investment to provide the new homes that are badly needed.
2025 was a year where we have seen proper ‘proof of concept’ of new tenures and ‘new’ typographies. The LDA and Local Authorities have been much more active with their own Affordable Purchase schemes (similar to shared equity ) and we are seeing a maturing of the Cost Rental sector as a new tenure through both the LDA and Affordable Homes Body sector. There are different pathways to home ownership and we regularly host information webinars with experts to assist aspirant buyers on their journeys.
We do expect an increase in overall 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.
The implementation of the National Planning Framework, the Housing Activation Office and recommendations of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce need a rapid and focussed start to 2026, thereafter hopefully we can see incremental increase in supply over the coming years.
There are new developments being granted and within the planning system under the still new Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlement Guidelines which allows for more own-door home typographies which should be more viable and more affordable. Car-parking ratios within developments particularly close to transport nodes is something buyers should be aware of. This is a changing pattern part through choice part informed by planning regulation.
A lot has been announced in the previous calendar year and what is needed now is urgency to certainty. The first two key priorities of the plan are ensuring a strong pipeline of zoned and serviced land and creating the conditions to attract the required investment. As yet only a handful of local authorities have fully engaged with the request to appropriately rezone so it’s critical we see greater alignment of local and central government.
Sherry FitzGerald Galway office are actively selling new homes in Barna, Knocknacarra, Rahoon, and Oranmore for leading developers Kingscroft Developments, Red Fox Residential, BRTW Developments and Burkeway Homes. Contact our office on (091 ) 569 123 for more information.
