Construction companies purchased just a third of land zoned for residential use that changed hands last year, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
Individuals accounted for 46.5 per cent of the volume of residential land sold during the year, as well as for 11.3 per cent of the value.
Construction companies were the buyer for 32.4 per cent of the volume and 63.5 per cent of the value, while councils were the purchaser for 5.6 per cent of the volume and 4.4 per cent of the value.
Furthermore, construction companies were the sellers for 11 per cent of the volume of residential land sold and 30.8 per cent of the value, while individuals were the sellers for 70.7 per cent of the volume and 40.2 per cent of the value.
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Some 766.8 acres of such land were sold in Ireland during the year at the median price of €231,171 per acre, which was down 6 per cent compared with 2023 but up 42 per cent when compared with 2018.
By way of comparison, the median price per acre of agricultural land in 2024 was €9,988.
The total value of residential land sold amounted to €186.8 million, which was an increase of 84 per cent on the €101.5 million recorded in 2023. The mean transaction size was 2.2 acres with a mean transaction value of €243,627.
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This is a new dataset from the CSO, which covers the period from 2018 through to 2024, but it cautioned that comparisons across years are not reliable due to issues with obtaining data sources for earlier years in particular.
Dublin and the southwest counties of Cork and Kerry were the most expensive regions to buy, with median prices per acre of €642,613 and €362,789 respectively. The land was least expensive was in the Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary region where the median price was €98,062 per acre.
Purchasers of land in the mideast region of Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow spent €53.4 million, which was more than in any other region. At the other end of the spectrum, €5.1 million was spent on residentially zoned land in the midlands region.
Dublin was the most expensive region to buy, with a median price per acre of €643,000. Kildare and Sligo were next most expensive with median prices per acre of €470,000 and €417,000 respectively.
The land was least expensive in Tipperary where the median price was €63,000 per acre.
The highest volume of residential land was sold was in Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary at 178.8 acres, which compared with 61.8 acres sold in the Dublin region and with 25.3 acres in the midlands region of Laois, Longford, Westmeath, and Offaly.
Land that was subject to the residentially zoned land tax, which is a 3 per cent annual tax on the market value of land that is zoned for residential use but remains undeveloped, was 127 per cent more expensive with median price per acre of €325,000.
Land that was subject to the tax accounted for €128.8 million, or 69 per cent, of the land sold.
