Activity in the construction sector rose again in April, according to the latest BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Construction Index.
Their latest report found that the Index rose to 53.2 last month, up from 51.6 in March.
That represents the first back-to-back increase in monthly construction activity for close to two years.
"The March rebound continued in April with the PMI showing further expansion, and at a faster rate," said John McCartney, Director & Head of Research at BNPPRE.
"Increased activity was reported across-the-board. On the residential side, the number of dwellings under construction dipped last year as completions had been outstripping new starts."
"However, this situation has reversed dramatically with twice as many commencements (11,956) as completions (5,841) in the first quarter of 2024."
Mr McCartney added that it is uncertainty as to whether the commencements surge is a once-off caused by developers rushing-in to avail of the waiver of development contributions which had been scheduled to expire on 24th April but has now been extended.
"However, leading indicators on the PMI dashboard suggest that the momentum may be sustained; new orders, employment and input purchases all rose further, while 87% of building firms said they expected to be as busy or busier this time next year," he said.
There was also expansion recorded on the commercial side, which was stronger than that recorded in residential.
"This reflects the fact that a large pipeline of office buildings are now getting to the finishing-out stage which is laborious and involves a wide variety of trades," Mr McCartney said.
"However, with oversupply in the market, the flow of speculative office starts tailed-off some time ago. Therefore, refurbishments and retrofits, rather than new-builds, will account for an increasing share of commercial activity over the medium-term."
Follow MyHome.ie on WhatsApp for all the latest property news.
