Commencements

Description

In Ireland, all dwellings constructed in the state are required to submit a Commencement Notice (CN). The charts shown below use this data to display the total number of residential units commenced annually. They are presented as the total number nationally, the total number in Dublin's local authorities, and the total number in the Greater Dublin Area. Additionally, the number of residential units commenced is shown in each local authority areas and the monthly number of commencements noticed are also demonstrated below.

Importance

Commencement Notices are early indicators of activity in the housing market. In a normally functioning housing market (i.e. outside of periods of substantial negative price shocks) one would expect that the ratio of commencements to completions would average close to 100% making a suitable allowance for the lag between the two phases.

Residential Units Commenced - Micro-Data