Property & Planning

Week of 2026-W02

Irish Property Market Intelligence | Business Post

Irish Property Market Intelligence

Monthly Report: 8–14 January 2026 — Transactions, Planning & Market Trends

Source: PROPERTY | Period: 2026-01-08 to 2026-01-14

Monthly | 8–14 January 2026

3 Transactions, a €1.725m Mount Merrion Record, and Five Apartments Sold in One Day: January's Market Opens With a Statement

The first full trading week of 2026 registered 3 property transactions nationally, with a national median of €347,501 — but the headline number conceals a market of sharp contrasts. Dublin's median of €460,000 is 32% above the national figure, while five apartments on North Richmond Street, Dublin 1 changed hands simultaneously at €780,000 each, a €3.9 million block transaction that points to institutional buying in the capital's inner city. On the planning side, 0 applications were received, with 75 residential units in the pipeline — including a 47-unit scheme in Letterkenny and a Meath developer's bid to add 12 apartments to an already-approved 228-unit scheme.

Transactions Registered

€347,501

National Median Price

€460,000

Dublin Median Price

Planning Applications

€1.725m

Top Transaction

By the Numbers

Metric	Value	Signal
National Median Price	€347,501	Active market
National Average Price	€377,202	Mean above median
Dublin Transactions	184 of 3	30% of national volume
Dublin Median	€460,000	32% above national
Transactions above €1m	9 in Dublin alone	Premium tier active
Planning Applications	0	75 residential units
Largest Planning Scheme	47 units, Letterkenny	Regional supply signal
Top Transaction	€1.725m, Mount Merrion	Premium residential

Business Post AI Pick: The North Richmond Signal Five apartments at 3–7 North Richmond Street, Dublin 1 (D01 eircode) all registered at exactly €780,000 on 14 January — a combined €3.9 million in a single day. This is not a coincidence of individual buyers; it is the fingerprint of a bulk or institutional acquisition. The D01 inner-city market, once dominated by small investors, is increasingly attracting portfolio buyers. The question is whether these units will enter the rental market or be held for capital appreciation — and at €780,000 per apartment, the yield arithmetic is demanding.

Pattern of the Week: New Development Companies Registering at Speed The period opened with at least three new development companies registering with the CRO: Harolds Grange Developments Limited (8 January, €1m authorised capital, Rathmines), Braymont Developments Limited (13 January, €1m authorised capital, Clondalkin), and Hartwest Developments Limited (13 January, €1m authorised capital, Clondalkin). Three development companies in one week, all with €1m authorised capital, suggests developers are structuring new project vehicles at the start of the year — watch for planning applications from these entities in the coming months.

A deeper look at the transactions registered over the period reveals a market that is simultaneously robust at the top and stratified by geography. Dublin commands a premium that is structural, not cyclical — its median of €460,000 is 32% above the national figure and 21% above the previous week's Dublin median of €378,854. But the most revealing data point is not the top price: it is the volume. With 184 transactions, Dublin accounted for 30% of all national activity in just seven days, a concentration that underscores how much of Ireland's property market is effectively a Dublin story.

County Price Tracker: 8–14 January vs 1–7 January 2026

The county-level comparison between the two opening weeks of 2026 shows a market accelerating into the new year. Dublin's median jumped 21% week-on-week, while Galway surged 110% from €180,000 to €377,500 — a dramatic shift that reflects the thin volume of the first week (30 transactions) normalising into a fuller second week (34 transactions). Meath's apparent leap from €22,755 to €427,000 reflects the same dynamic: the first week included non-market and partial transactions that distort the median. The second week, with full-market transactions only, tells the real story.

County	Median (8–14 Jan)	Median (1–7 Jan)	Change	Transactions (Current)	Transactions (Previous)
Dublin	€460,000	€378,854	+21.4%	184	73
Cork	€358,000	€31,763*	Normalised	81	56
Galway	€377,500	€180,000	+110%	34	30
Kildare	€457,500	€338,767	+35.0%	26	19
Meath	€427,000	€22,755*	Normalised	21	24
Wicklow	€429,000	N/A	New data	20	—
Limerick	€300,000	N/A	New data	15	—

* Previous period medians marked with asterisk include non-market and partial transactions that distort the figure. Current period (Jan 8–14) reflects full-market transactions only.

Stress Signal: Kildare Closing the Gap on Dublin Kildare's median of €457,500 is now within 0.5% of Dublin's €460,000 — a near-parity that would have been unthinkable five years ago. This is not a Kildare story; it is a Dublin overspill story. Buyers priced out of the capital are pushing commuter-belt prices to within touching distance of the city itself. The question for 2026: at what point does the commuter premium disappear entirely, and what does that mean for affordability in the Greater Dublin Area?

Top Transactions Registered This Period

Nine transactions above €1 million were registered in Dublin alone over the seven-day period, with the premium residential market showing no sign of cooling. The top transaction — 32 South Avenue, Mount Merrion at €1.725 million — is a benchmark for the A94 eircode area, one of Dublin's most sought-after southside addresses. Sandymount and Ballsbridge each contributed multiple seven-figure transactions, confirming D4 as the capital's most active premium postcode.

Address	County	Price	Date	Signal
32 South Ave, Mount Merrion	Dublin (A94)	€1,725,000	9 Jan	Period high
36 Gilford Park, Sandymount D4	Dublin (D04)	€1,620,000	9 Jan	D4 premium
5 Merlyn Rd, Ballsbridge D4	Dublin (D04)	€1,485,000	13 Jan	D4 premium
3 Granite Hall, Dun Laoghaire	Dublin (A96)	€1,312,000	8 Jan	Coastal premium
Apt 1 Castle Square, Carrigtwohill	Cork (T45)	€1,250,000	13 Jan	Cork record
17 Wilfield Rd, Sandymount D4	Dublin (D04)	€1,150,000	8 Jan	D4 premium
45 Avondale Lawn, Blackrock	Dublin (A94)	€1,158,000	9 Jan	Southside
3 Seafield, Corbawn Lane, Shankill D18	Dublin (D18)	€1,220,000	9 Jan	Coastal

Standout: Carrigtwohill Breaks the €1m Barrier The €1.25 million transaction at Castle Square, Carrigtwohill (T45 eircode) is the highest Cork transaction in the period and a significant data point for the east Cork commuter market. Carrigtwohill, located 18km east of Cork city on the N25, has been one of the fastest-growing towns in Munster, driven by IDA-backed employment at the nearby Eastgate Business Park. A €1.25m apartment in Carrigtwohill — not Cork city, not Kinsale, not Cobh — signals that premium pricing is now reaching into commuter towns that were considered mid-market just three years ago.

Planning Pipeline: 0 Applications, 75 Residential Units

The planning register for the period shows 0 applications received across 15+ local authorities, with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown leading at 16 applications, followed by Meath (14) and Kildare (12). Of the 75 residential units in the pipeline, the largest single scheme is a 47-dwelling development in Letterkenny, Donegal — a signal that regional housing supply is beginning to respond to demand outside the traditional Dublin-Cork-Galway triangle.

Application	Authority	Type	Units / Description	Status
App. 2660012	Donegal CC	Permission	47 dwellings incl. 8 apartments, Letterkenny (F92)	New Application
App. 2660045 — Kingscroft Developments	Meath CC	LRD Modification	SHD modification: 228 to 240 units, Ratoath (A85)	Pre-Validation
App. 264	Meath CC	Extension of Duration	12 dwellings, Johnstownbridge Road, Enfield (A83)	New Application
App. 2660044	Meath CC	Permission	5 residential units, Kilcock (R125 corridor)	Pre-Validation
App. 2660001	Galway City Council	Permission	Rear extension + attic conversion, Renmore Rd (H91)	New Application

View All 3 Transactions →

View Planning Applications →

Transaction data and planning applications tell you what happened. Cross-referencing them against company registrations, court records, and business journalism tells you why it matters. Over the period 8–14 January 2026, three distinct threads emerge: the institutional reshaping of Dublin's inner-city apartment market, the quiet expansion of a UK-directed Meath developer, and the continued internationalisation of Irish residential investment. None of these stories is visible from the property register alone.

  Institutional Appetite: The North Richmond Pattern and the MEAG Signal
  Five apartments at 3–7 North Richmond Street, Dublin 1 registered at exactly €780,000 each on 14 January — a €3.9 million block acquisition in a single day. The uniformity of price and date is the signature of a portfolio buyer, not five independent purchasers. This pattern is consistent with what The Business Post reported on 30 January: German real estate asset manager MEAG acquired a 134-apartment build-to-rent development at 18 Newmarket Square, Dublin 8 for approximately €75 million from Valpre Capital and Revelate Capital. At €560,000 per unit, the MEAG deal is priced below the North Richmond cluster — but both transactions point to the same structural shift: institutional capital is moving into Dublin's inner-city residential market at scale. The question for 2026 is whether this capital will compress yields to the point where individual investors exit, accelerating the institutionalisation of the rental sector.

The Meath Developer Network: Kingscroft's 35-Year Footprint Planning application 2660045, received by Meath County Council on 9 January, names Kingscroft Developments Limited as the applicant for a Large-scale Residential Development modification at Jamestown, Ratoath — seeking to increase a previously approved 228-unit scheme to 240 units by adding a floor to two apartment blocks. CRO records reveal a company with a 35-year history: registered 12 October 1989, with €125,000 authorised capital and three active directors. Two of them — Charles Hubert Gallagher (Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire) and David Dawson (St Albans, Hertfordshire) — are UK-based, a common structure for Irish development companies with British-based principals. CRO cross-referencing reveals that Gallagher also directs Triple Fame Limited and Flamstead Limited, both registered at the same Clonee address, suggesting a broader property holding structure. The Ratoath modification — adding 12 apartments to an already-approved scheme — is a low-risk, high-return move: the planning permission exists, the infrastructure is in place, and the additional units require only a modest design change.

The Commuter Belt Compression: Kildare at Dublin Prices Kildare's median transaction price of €457,500 over the period is within 0.5% of Dublin's €460,000 — a convergence that has structural implications for affordability policy. The commuter belt was historically priced at a 15–20% discount to Dublin, reflecting the cost of commuting time and infrastructure. That discount has effectively disappeared. The planning data reinforces this: Kildare recorded 12 planning applications in the period, the third-highest nationally, with applications extending along the R125 corridor toward Kilcock. Developers are responding to demand, but supply is lagging prices. Watch for Kildare to emerge as a flashpoint in the 2026 housing debate.

  Regional Supply: Letterkenny's 47-Unit Signal
  The largest planning application in the period — 47 dwellings including 8 apartments at Millford and Gortmacall Beg, Letterkenny (F92 eircode) — is a significant data point for regional housing supply. Letterkenny is Donegal's largest town and the commercial hub of the northwest, but it has historically been underserved by large-scale residential development. A 47-unit scheme on a 4.37-hectare site, with a decision due date of 4 March 2026, suggests a developer is betting on demand in a market that has been largely ignored by institutional capital. If approved, this scheme would represent one of the largest single residential developments in Donegal in recent years. Watch for the decision in March.

The Radar: Three Signals Worth Watching

New Development Companies Clustering at Year-Start At least three development companies registered with the CRO in the first two weeks of January 2026: Harolds Grange Developments Limited (Rathmines, D06, €1m capital), Braymont Developments Limited (Clondalkin, D22, €1m capital), and Hartwest Developments Limited (Clondalkin, D22, €1m capital). All three share the same €1m authorised capital structure — a common SPV (special purpose vehicle) format used to ring-fence individual development projects. The clustering at year-start is consistent with developers structuring new project vehicles ahead of planning applications. Watch for planning applications from these entities in Q1–Q2 2026.

D4 Premium Tier Holding Firm Despite Volume Increase Dublin 4 (D04 eircode) produced four transactions above €1 million in the period — 36 Gilford Park (€1.62m), 5 Merlyn Road (€1.485m), 17 Wilfield Road (€1.15m), and Apt 2, 51 Pembroke Road (€925,000) — with the median across all D04 transactions well above the Dublin average. The premium tier is not just holding; it is deepening. The concentration of high-value transactions in D4 and A94 (Mount Merrion, Blackrock) suggests that the top of the market is being driven by a relatively small number of buyers with significant capital. Watch for whether this concentration persists into Q2 2026 or broadens to other southside postcodes.

Meath Planning Activity Accelerating Meath County Council received 14 planning applications in the period — the second-highest nationally after Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown — including the Kingscroft LRD modification at Ratoath, a 12-unit extension at Enfield, and a 5-unit scheme at Kilcock. Meath's planning pipeline is expanding along the M3 and R125 corridors, consistent with the county's role as Dublin's primary commuter catchment. With Meath's median transaction price at €427,000 — still 7% below Dublin — there is residual demand to absorb new supply. Watch for Meath to become the most active planning county in the Greater Dublin Area by mid-2026.

Two entities stand out from the period's data as worthy of deeper investigation: one a 35-year-old Meath developer quietly expanding a major apartment scheme, the other a new development company registered on the first day of the period with €1 million in authorised capital. Together, they illustrate the two faces of the Irish development market in early 2026 — the established player optimising existing permissions, and the new entrant positioning for the year ahead.

Kingscroft Developments Limited — The Quiet Expander of Ratoath

Kingscroft Developments Limited is not a household name in Irish property, but its CRO profile tells the story of a developer that has been quietly building in Meath for over three decades. Registered on 12 October 1989 at 9 Abbey House, Main Street, Clonee (D15FXC3 eircode), the company has €125,000 in authorised capital and three active directors: Charles Hubert Gallagher (Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire), David Dawson (St Albans, Hertfordshire), and Cathal Mullan (Clonee, Dublin 15). The UK-based majority on the board is a common structure for Irish development companies with British-based principals — it does not imply foreign ownership, but it does suggest a cross-border capital structure that is worth noting.

Metric	Detail
Company Number	150410
Registration Date	12 October 1989
Registered Address	9 Abbey House, Main Street, Clonee, Meath (D15FXC3)
Authorised Capital	€125,000
Principal Object	Development and selling of real estate
Active Directors	3 (2 UK-based, 1 Irish)
Company Secretary	Nick Collins (since 1999)
Planning Activity (Jan 2026)	LRD modification: Jamestown, Ratoath — 228 to 240 units

  Reading Between the Lines: The Ratoath Modification
  The January 2026 planning application is not a new development — it is a modification to an existing Strategic Housing Development (SHD) already approved under ABP-305196-19. Kingscroft is seeking to add a floor to two apartment blocks, increasing the unit count from 52 to 64 apartments within those blocks, and the overall scheme from 228 to 240 units. This is the most efficient form of development: no new site acquisition, no new infrastructure, no new planning risk beyond the modification itself. The additional 12 units, if approved, represent pure margin on a scheme that is already consented. CRO cross-referencing reveals that director Gallagher also directs Triple Fame Limited and Flamstead Limited, both at the same Clonee address — suggesting a broader property holding structure that may include completed developments. The 2025 accounts (filed November 2025) will be the real test of the company's financial position.

The question for the Ratoath scheme: will Meath County Council approve the modification, and if so, when will the additional 12 apartments reach the market? At current Meath prices (€427,000 median), 12 additional apartments represent approximately €5.1 million in potential revenue — a meaningful addition to a scheme that was already approved at 228 units.

Key People This Period

Name	Role	Notable Activity	Connections
Charles Hubert Gallagher	Director	Director of Kingscroft Developments since 1992. UK-based (Gerrard's Cross, Bucks).	Kingscroft Developments; also directs Triple Fame Ltd and Flamstead Ltd at same Clonee address
David Dawson	Director	Director of Kingscroft Developments since 2009. UK-based (St Albans, Hertfordshire).	Kingscroft Developments
Cathal Mullan	Director	Director of Kingscroft Developments since 2009. Clonee, Dublin 15.	Kingscroft Developments; also directs Holywell Block Two CLG
Nick Collins	Company Secretary	Secretary of Kingscroft Developments since 1999. Clonee, Co. Meath.	Kingscroft Developments; also secretary of Triple Fame Ltd, Flamstead Ltd, Holywell Block Two CLG

One to Watch: Harolds Grange Developments Limited

Harolds Grange Developments Limited

CRO No. 805415 | Registered: 8 January 2026 | 185 Rathmines Road Lower, Rathmines, Dublin 6 (D06YW56) | NACE: Development of building projects

Metric	Detail
Authorised Capital	€1,000,000
Issued Capital	€100
Company Type	Private Limited Company
Registration Date	8 January 2026
Address	185 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6

Harolds Grange Developments Limited was registered on the first day of the reporting period — 8 January 2026 — with €1 million in authorised capital and a Rathmines address. The name references Harold's Grange, a residential area in Dublin 14 (D14 eircode) near Rathfarnham, suggesting the company may be structured around a specific development project in that area.

Why it matters: the €1 million authorised capital structure is the standard SPV (special purpose vehicle) format used by Irish developers to ring-fence individual projects. The Rathmines address is a registered office, not necessarily the development site. The D14/Harold's Grange area has seen significant residential development activity in recent years, with several large schemes completing or in planning. A new €1m-capital SPV registered on the first working day of 2026 is a developer signalling intent. Watch for a planning application from this entity in Q1–Q2 2026 — the Harold's Grange area, with its proximity to the M50 and Luas Green Line, is a natural target for medium-density residential development.

The number that matters: €1,000,000 in authorised capital — the standard SPV structure for a single development project in the €10–30 million range. This is not a holding company; it is a project vehicle. The question for Q2 2026: what site does it hold, and what planning application will follow?

The Companies Registration Office

The period 8–14 January 2026 saw a notable cluster of new development company registrations with the CRO — a pattern consistent with developers structuring project vehicles at the start of the financial year. Three development companies with €1 million authorised capital each registered in the period: Harolds Grange Developments Limited (D06, 8 January), Braymont Developments Limited (D22, 13 January), and Hartwest Developments Limited (D22, 13 January). The €1m authorised capital structure is the standard SPV format for single-project development vehicles in the €10–30 million range. All three are registered at Dublin addresses, suggesting urban or suburban development focus. The CRO register also shows 706 new companies registered in the period across all sectors, with 348 new business names also filed.

Company	Reg. Date	Capital	Address	Sector
Harolds Grange Developments Ltd	8 Jan 2026	€1,000,000	Rathmines, Dublin 6 (D06)	Development of building projects
Braymont Developments Ltd	13 Jan 2026	€1,000,000	Clondalkin, Dublin 22 (D22)	Development of building projects
Hartwest Developments Ltd	13 Jan 2026	€1,000,000	Clondalkin, Dublin 22 (D22)	Development of building projects
Kingscroft Developments Ltd	12 Oct 1989	€125,000	Clonee, Meath (D15)	Development and selling of real estate

  Construction Watch: Three SPVs in One Week
  Three development companies with identical €1m authorised capital structures registered in the same week is not coincidence — it is a pattern. Irish developers routinely register new SPVs at the start of the year to ring-fence individual projects before submitting planning applications. The Clondalkin address shared by Braymont and Hartwest suggests a common principal or agent. Watch for planning applications from these entities in Q1–Q2 2026 — the D22 eircode area (Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown) has been one of the most active residential development zones in the Greater Dublin Area.

Explore All 706 Companies →

The Irish Courts

The High Court delivered 10 judgments over the period, with the most significant for the property and construction sector being the striking out of a 16-year-old competition law case involving major building materials companies. The case — Goode Concrete v Cement Roadstone Holdings PLC and Ors — was dismissed by Mr Justice Barrett after the plaintiff failed to pay court-ordered costs, ending a dispute that had been running since 2010 over alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the concrete and aggregates market. For the construction sector, the closure of this case removes a long-running legal uncertainty for CRH plc and Roadstone Wood Limited, two of Ireland's largest building materials suppliers.

Citation	Parties	Subject	Why It Matters
[2026] IEHC 11	Goode Concrete v CRH plc and Ors	Competition law — concrete/aggregates market	Case struck out after 16 years. CRH and Roadstone cleared. Removes legal uncertainty for building materials sector.
[2026] IEHC 8	Meta Platform Ireland v Data Protection Commission	Data regulation — DPC decision challenge	Tech/data regulation. Meta challenging DPC enforcement. Relevant to Ireland's role as EU tech hub.
[2026] IEHC 4	Browne v Mayo County Council	Employment — overtime reckonable for pension	Public sector pensions. Overtime must be included in pension calculations. Precedent for local authority employees.
[2026] IEHC 12	ComReg v Sky Ireland Limited	Telecoms regulation — enforcement action	ComReg enforcement against Sky Ireland. Telecoms regulatory environment.
[2026] IEHC 1	San Leon Energy PLC v Brightwaters Energy Limited	Energy sector — corporate dispute	Energy sector corporate litigation. San Leon is an Irish-listed energy company.

Construction Sector: The Goode Concrete Case Closes The striking out of Goode Concrete v CRH plc ([2026] IEHC 11) after 16 years is a significant moment for the Irish construction materials sector. The case, which alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the concrete and aggregates market between 2007 and 2011, was dismissed not on its merits but because the plaintiff failed to pay court-ordered costs. For CRH plc — one of the world's largest building materials companies, headquartered in Dublin — and Roadstone Wood Limited, the closure removes a long-running legal overhang. The case's dismissal also illustrates the cost of protracted litigation: 16 years of proceedings, multiple interlocutory applications, and ultimately a strike-out on procedural grounds rather than a substantive ruling.

View All Judgments →

The Week Ahead

The opening two weeks of 2026 have set a clear tone for the Irish property market: Dublin is expensive, the commuter belt is catching up, and institutional capital is moving into the residential sector at scale. The five North Richmond Street apartments sold simultaneously at €780,000 each are a microcosm of the broader trend — portfolio buyers treating Dublin apartments as an asset class rather than individual homes. The planning pipeline, with 75 residential units in the first week alone, suggests supply is responding, but the geographic concentration of activity in Dublin and its immediate hinterland means the regional imbalance is structural, not cyclical.

The single most important takeaway from this period is the convergence of Kildare and Dublin prices. When the commuter belt trades at parity with the capital, the traditional affordability escape valve — move further out, pay less — has closed. This is not a 2026 problem; it is a 2026 symptom of a decade of undersupply. The planning applications in Letterkenny, Enfield, and Kilcock suggest developers are beginning to respond, but the lag between planning permission and completed units means the market will remain tight through at least 2027.

  The Bottom Line
  Ireland's property market opened 2026 with a clear message: the premium tier is deepening, the commuter belt has lost its discount, and institutional capital is reshaping the rental market. The question for the rest of the year is whether the planning pipeline — 75 units in the first week, with Letterkenny and Ratoath leading the way — can translate into completions fast enough to ease the pressure. Based on the data, the answer is: not yet.

What to Watch: (1) The Meath County Council decision on Kingscroft's Ratoath modification (due March 2026) — if approved, 12 additional apartments at a consented scheme. (2) Planning applications from the three new development SPVs registered in January — Harolds Grange, Braymont, and Hartwest — expected Q1–Q2 2026. (3) Whether the North Richmond Street bulk purchase pattern repeats in other D01 and D07 postcodes, signalling a broader institutional move into inner-city Dublin apartments.