Savills acted in six of the top ten deals during the year. The most substantial deal involved the disposal of the former Jury’s Hotel in Ballsbridge to the US State Department for €152 million, representing the price paid for a cleared site. The strategic acquisition of the site will allow for the construction of a new embassy building once planning permission has been obtained. As the sole commercial deal in the top five, and the only deal over €50m, it swayed the share of volumes attributed to commercial assets to 36%.

Despite this, residential lands constituted over half of sales volumes in 2023 and the State’s role in supplying housing was evident. Acquisitions from both the Land Development Agency and Fingal County Council for sites in Clongriffin and Swords, at a price of €38 million and €27 million respectively. The top five deals also featured two deals both worth €15 million, namely the Comer Group’s acquisition of the Rockbrook site in Sandyford ,while in Cork, a 73-acre site in Ballincollig changed hands.

Looking to the year ahead, Savills anticipates that residential sites will remain the preference for buyers, although demand for prime logistics land will also prevail. Meanwhile, sites with planning permission in place are going to continue to attract a premium, particularly due to the persistent delays with regard to navigating the current planning process. As a result, many funders view sites without planning as carring too much planning risk currently.

That being said, the Planning and Development Bill was published in November and is currently in the third stage of review and debate in Dáil Éireann. Two more stages remain in Dáil Éireann before the Bill moves to the next five stages in Seanad Éireann and then is signed into law. One of the key reforms includes the restructuring of An Bord Pleanála (ABP), and while substantial staffing support has been provided to ABP in recent times, concerns have been raised over internal cannibalisation within the planning system as it draws planners from county councils. Additionally, the aforementioned guidelines for sustainable residential development and compact settlements could add to backlog pressures as sites are resubmitted seeking a revised, more efficient, scheme.

Raymond Tutty, Head of Planning, commented:

“The Planning and Development Bill 2023 is a welcome review of the planning system. Planning resources are a key factor to the success of the Bill and significant attention should be placed on staffing not just An Bord Pleanála but also the local councils which are reporting acute shortages of planners. Without these resources, the administrative power to clear the backlog of applications and processing of new applications will still be delayed.”

There is also further positive sentiment for the year ahead as likely rate cuts will reduce debt costs and enhance credit availability. Furthermore, density and thus viability on some sites will be improved following the recent publication of the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities.

John Swarbrigg, Director of Development Land commented:

“Demand for residential sites with planning persists, underpinned by the continued need for housing delivery. At the moment, larger sites trading without planning permission are typically more strategic in nature, as evidenced by the price disparity. However; opportunistic buyers who can support a purchase of these type of assets will reap the rewards once they have managed to obtain an implementable grant of planning permission. 2024 is also likely to see continued State participation, specifically AHB’s, Local Authorities and in particular as the Land Development Agency continue to accelerate their residential delivery mandate.. While challenges remain, there is positivity in the market as interest rate cuts will reduce debt costs and spur on activity this year.”