Property & Planning

Week of 2026-W26

Irish Property Market Intelligence | Business Post

Irish Property Market Intelligence

Weekly Transactions & Planning Report | 22–28 June 2026

Source: PROPERTY | Period: 2026-06-22 to 2026-06-28

Monthly | Property Market Intelligence | May-June 2026

Dublin median holds at EUR 447k as 3 transactions registered nationally -- but it is the regions building the future

The Property Price Register for the May-June 2026 period shows 3 transactions registered nationally, with Dublin's median price at EUR 447k and the national median at EUR 330k -- a 35% capital premium that has barely shifted in twelve months. The real story is in the planning pipeline: 0 applications received in June alone, with 319 residential units proposed and a single 924-unit amendment in South Dublin's Lucan SDZ signalling that Ireland's largest developers are still betting on suburban densification. Meanwhile, the regions are doing the heavy lifting on new supply -- Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Donegal together account for more than a quarter of all June planning activity.

Transactions Registered (May-Jun 2026)

EUR 447k

Dublin Median Price

EUR 330k

National Median Price

Planning Applications (June 2026)

319

Residential Units Proposed (June)

By the Numbers

Metric	Value	Signal
National average transaction price	EUR 349,057	Stable
Dublin average transaction price	EUR 537,110	Up vs April EUR 523k
Cork average transaction price	EUR 309,718	Down vs April EUR 342k
Meath average transaction price	EUR 366,060	Up vs April EUR 321k
Highest single transaction (Dublin)	EUR 1,900,000	Malahide K36
Largest planning application (units)	924 units	Lucan SDZ
Planning applications received (June)	350	Nationwide
Residential units in pipeline (June)	319	Supply signal

Business Post AI Pick: The gap between Dublin and the rest of Ireland is not simply a price story -- it is a volume story. Dublin registered 673 transactions in the period versus Cork's 334, Galway's 136, and Limerick's 78. That 2:1 Dublin-to-Cork ratio in transaction volume, combined with a 54% price premium, tells you that demand concentration in the capital is structural, not cyclical. The question is whether the 924-unit Lucan SDZ amendment and a wave of regional planning applications can begin to rebalance that equation over the next 18-24 months.

Pattern of the Period: Tipperary is emerging as an unexpected planning hotspot. The county accounted for 36 of the 350 June applications -- second only to Donegal -- and submitted two of the five largest residential schemes in the country: 56 units at Kiltillane, Templemore and 55 units at Gort Na Manach, Clonmel. For a county with a median price of approximately EUR 200k, this level of planning activity suggests developers are finding viable margins at lower price points -- a structural shift worth watching.

The Investigation: Where the Market Is Moving

A deeper look at the May-June 2026 transaction data reveals a market in transition. Dublin's average price of EUR 537k is up 2.6% on April's EUR 524k, but the more significant shift is in Meath, where the average jumped from EUR 321k to EUR 366k -- a 14% move in a single period that suggests commuter-belt demand is intensifying as buyers are priced out of the capital. Cork, by contrast, saw its average fall from EUR 342k to EUR 310k, though this may reflect a mix-shift toward lower-value transactions rather than genuine price weakness. Note: all figures are transactions registered in the period; the Property Price Register typically lags 4-6 weeks from actual completion.

County Price Tracker: May-June 2026 vs April 2026

The county-level comparison below uses average transaction prices as the primary metric, given that median data was not available for all counties in the previous period. Meath's surge stands out as the most significant movement, while Waterford continues to offer the most affordable entry point among the tracked counties.

County	Avg (May-Jun)	Avg (April)	Change	Txns (May-Jun)	Txns (April)	Volume Change
Dublin	EUR 537,110	EUR 523,569	+2.6%	673	728	-7.6%
Cork	EUR 309,718	EUR 342,353	-9.5%	334	348	-4.0%
Meath	EUR 366,060	EUR 320,717	+14.1%	90	96	-6.3%
Galway	EUR 254,898	EUR 306,735	-16.9%	136	153	-11.1%
Limerick	EUR 266,053	EUR 277,125	-4.0%	78	86	-9.3%
Waterford	EUR 221,325	EUR 247,647	-10.6%	78	81	-3.7%

Stress Signal -- Galway: Galway's average price fell 16.9% from EUR 307k to EUR 255k between April and May-June, while transaction volume dropped 11%. A single-period swing of this magnitude in a market of 136 transactions is statistically sensitive to a handful of high-value outliers, but the direction is consistent with reports of affordability pressure pushing buyers toward lower-price segments. Watch for whether this trend persists into Q3 2026 before drawing structural conclusions.

Standout -- Meath: Meath's 14% average price increase -- from EUR 321k to EUR 366k -- is the most significant county-level movement in the period. With a median of EUR 384k, Meath is now more expensive on average than Cork (EUR 310k) and approaching Dublin's outer suburbs. This is the commuter-belt premium in action: buyers willing to pay more for Meath's relative affordability versus Dublin are driving prices up, not down.

Top Transactions Registered: May-June 2026

The highest-value transactions registered in the period are concentrated in Dublin's most established residential addresses -- Malahide, Goatstown, Rathmines, and Foxrock -- with a single Seville Place apartment block in Dublin 1 registering at EUR 1.885m, suggesting a bulk or portfolio transaction rather than a single-unit sale.

Address	County	Price	Type	Eircode
8 The Rise, Malahide	Dublin	EUR 1,900,000	Residential	K36PT73
Apt 1, 111 Seville Place, Dublin 1	Dublin	EUR 1,885,000	Residential	D01F6F7
Kilreesk House, St Margarets	Dublin	EUR 1,766,245	Residential	K67F822
26 Eden Park Drive, Goatstown, D14	Dublin	EUR 1,450,000	Residential	D14FX96
111 Leinster Road, Rathmines, D6	Dublin	EUR 1,372,500	Residential	D06E7E5
Rockton, Old Bray Road, Foxrock D18	Dublin	EUR 1,283,000	Residential	D18W2N9
7 Grange Oaks Drive, Kilternan	Dublin	EUR 1,189,427	Residential (New)	--
33 Arnott Street, Dublin 8	Dublin	EUR 1,110,000	Residential	D08A3P1
Apt 1 and others, 15 Devonshire St, Cork	Cork	EUR 785,000	Residential (Portfolio)	T23FX26
12 Hill Farm Avenue, Model Farm Rd, Cork	Cork	EUR 700,440	Residential (New)	--

View All 3 Transactions →

View Planning Applications →

The Connections: What the Data Alone Cannot Tell You

Transaction data and planning applications are the skeleton of the Irish property market. The flesh is the corporate activity, legal proceedings, and media coverage that reveal who is buying, who is building, and what the constraints really are. A deeper look at the period reveals four structural themes that cut across the raw numbers: the ongoing densification of Dublin's suburban fringe, the emergence of regional planning momentum, the legal shadow over An Bord Pleanala decisions, and the return of the Irish-American developer to the Dublin hospitality and property scene.

Dublin SDZ: Densification at Scale The most significant planning event of the period is not a new application but an amendment: application SDZ26A/0009W before South Dublin County Council seeks to increase a permitted development at Gollierstown and Finnstown, south-west of Lucan, from 877 to 924 units -- a 5.4% uplift achieved by converting larger 2-bed units into studios and 1-beds. The site spans 5.12 hectares and the amended floor area is 77,452 sq m. This is the SDZ (Strategic Development Zone) planning process working as intended: allowing incremental densification of already-permitted schemes without requiring a full new application. The shift toward smaller units -- 52 more studios, 72 more 1-beds -- reflects developer confidence in the rental market rather than owner-occupier demand. Watch for whether the decision, due by 1 July 2026, is granted or challenged.

The Mercantile Connection: Irish-American Capital Returns to Dublin The Business Post reported this week on Maurice Regan's return to the Irish market, with the construction magnate behind billion-dollar New York firm JT Magen now the sole owner of the Mercantile Entertainment Group, which controls Cafe en Seine, The George, and Whelan's on Dawson Street, Dublin 2. CRO records confirm Mercantile Entertainment Group Limited (company number 497340) is registered at 39/40 Dawson Street, D02X067, with directors Patrick Burke and Russell Gioiella in place since 2017. Regan's comments to the Business Post about Irish infrastructure constraints and high taxation as barriers to growth are consistent with the broader picture painted by the property data: a market where supply is constrained not by lack of demand but by the cost and complexity of delivery. The Mercantile Group's Dawson Street portfolio sits in one of Dublin's most valuable commercial corridors -- a street where commercial transactions in the period registered at EUR 36,500 (4 Vernon Avenue, Clontarf) and EUR 62,565 (Embassy House, Ballsbridge), illustrating the wide range of commercial values even within the capital.

The Legal Shadow: An Bord Pleanala Under Judicial Scrutiny The courts index reveals a persistent pattern of judicial review challenges to An Bord Pleanala planning decisions, with cases spanning 2020-2024 all touching on the same core issues: density, height, material contravention of development plans, and the adequacy of reasons given for decisions. The case of Jennings v An Bord Pleanala [2023] IEHC 14 saw a student accommodation planning permission quashed for failure to properly consider the open character of the site. Murphy v An Bord Pleanala [2024] IEHC 186 involved Clonkeen Investments DAC and a residential development in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. The pattern matters for the current planning pipeline: the 97-unit Bolton Woods application in Kilkenny and the 55-unit Clonmel scheme are both in pre-validation or new application status -- they face the same legal landscape that has seen multiple permissions challenged and quashed in recent years. Developers and their legal teams will be watching the Lucan SDZ decision closely.

The Holiday Village Conversion: Donegal's Housing Pivot One of the most revealing planning applications of the period is application 2661078 before Donegal County Council: a change of use from a commercial holiday village at Lower Main Street, Ballintra (F94 H33P) to 12 individual private dwellings. This is not a large scheme, but it is a signal. The conversion of tourist accommodation to permanent residential use reflects the acute housing pressure in rural Donegal -- a county that simultaneously leads the country in planning application volume (55 applications in June) and faces some of the most severe rural housing shortages. Donegal's planning dominance in the data is partly a function of its dispersed settlement pattern and the prevalence of one-off rural housing applications, but the Ballintra conversion suggests a more structural shift: holiday assets being repurposed for year-round living.

The Radar: Three Signals Worth Watching

Tipperary's Planning Surge: Two large residential schemes -- Gort Na Manach, Clonmel (55 units) and Kiltillane, Templemore (56 units) -- filed in the same week, alongside 36 total applications making Tipperary the second-busiest county in June. Both schemes are on greenfield sites with connections to existing infrastructure. At Tipperary's price points (median approximately EUR 200k), these schemes are viable only if construction costs remain controlled. Watch for whether planning is granted without significant conditions, and whether either scheme attracts a Part V social housing challenge.

Cherrywood/Clay Farm New Build Cluster: Multiple new-build transactions registered in the Cherrywood and Clay Farm, Leopardstown area in the period -- including 4 Tullyvale Close, Cherrywood (EUR 634k), Apt 58 Meadow View, Clay Farm (EUR 452k), and Apt 62 Meadow View, Clay Farm (EUR 450k). The cluster of VAT-exclusive new-build transactions in D18 suggests a development phase nearing completion. Watch for the full Cherrywood SDZ transaction volume in Q3 2026 as the scheme reaches practical completion across multiple blocks.

Cork Portfolio Transactions: Two transactions at 15 Devonshire Street, Cork (EUR 785k for Apt 1 and others) and two near-identical transactions at Pearse House, Pearse Square, Cork (EUR 29k each) suggest portfolio-level activity in the Cork city market. The Devonshire Street transaction -- described as "Apartment 1 and others" -- is consistent with a bulk purchase of multiple units by an institutional or investment buyer. Watch for further Cork city portfolio transactions in Q3 2026 as institutional appetite for regional residential assets continues to grow.

The Deep Dive: Two Stories Behind the Numbers

Two entities from the period's data deserve closer examination: the Lucan SDZ development, which represents the largest single planning event of the period and a test case for Ireland's densification strategy, and the Malahide residential market, where the EUR 1.9m top transaction sits within a broader pattern of high-value coastal Dublin activity. Each tells a different story about where Irish property is heading.

Lucan SDZ Amendment (SDZ26A/0009W) -- Densification as Strategy

The application before South Dublin County Council to amend a permitted 877-unit development at Gollierstown and Finnstown, south-west of Lucan (K78 F2R1), to 924 units is one of the most consequential planning events of the period. The site spans 5.12 hectares across nine blocks, with a total floor area of 77,452 sq m. The amendment does not add floor area -- it reduces it by 112 sq m -- but it increases unit count by 47 by converting larger 2-bed units into studios and 1-beds. This is a deliberate pivot toward the rental market.

Metric	Permitted (Original)	Amended (Proposed)	Change
Total units	877	924	+47 (+5.4%)
Studio units	45	97	+52 (+116%)
1-bed units	388	460	+72 (+18.6%)
2-bed (4-person) units	317	240	-77 (-24.3%)
3-bed units	41	41	No change
Total floor area (sq m)	77,564	77,452	-112 sq m
Site area (ha)	5.12	5.12	No change

Reading Between the Lines: The shift from 2-bed family units to studios and 1-beds is not a response to planning policy -- it is a response to the rental market. Studios and 1-beds command higher per-square-metre rents than 2-beds, and in a market where institutional landlords are the primary buyers of large apartment schemes, the unit mix is optimised for yield, not family formation. The 116% increase in studio units is the most telling number in this application. The question for the Lucan SDZ: if this amendment is granted, will it set a precedent for other SDZ schemes to pivot toward smaller units, further reducing the supply of family-sized apartments in Dublin's suburbs?

The question for Q3 2026: will South Dublin County Council grant this amendment before the 1 July 2026 decision deadline, and will any third-party objections trigger a further judicial review that delays the scheme?

Malahide at EUR 1.9m -- The Coastal Premium

The top transaction of the period -- EUR 1,900,000 for 8 The Rise, Malahide (K36PT73) -- sits within a broader pattern of high-value coastal Dublin activity. Malahide, with its village character, marina, and DART access, consistently commands a premium over comparable inland locations. The EUR 1.9m price point for a residential property in K36 is consistent with the upper end of the Malahide market, where detached houses on larger plots regularly exceed EUR 1.5m.

Metric	Value	Context
Top transaction (Malahide)	EUR 1,900,000	8 The Rise, K36PT73
Dublin median (period)	EUR 446,869	4.2x the median
National median (period)	EUR 330,097	5.8x the national median
Second-highest Dublin transaction	EUR 1,885,000	111 Seville Place, D01 (portfolio)
Kilreesk House, St Margarets	EUR 1,766,245	Rural Dublin fringe

Why It Matters: The concentration of EUR 1m+ transactions in Dublin -- 102 transactions above EUR 800k in the period -- is not simply a luxury market story. It reflects the structural shortage of high-quality family housing in established Dublin locations. When buyers pay EUR 1.9m for a Malahide property, they are paying a scarcity premium for a combination of location, school catchment, and community that cannot be replicated in new-build suburban schemes. This premium is self-reinforcing: the higher the price in established areas, the more attractive new-build alternatives become, which is exactly what the Cherrywood and Clay Farm transaction cluster suggests is happening in D18.

The question for the Malahide market: will the EUR 1.9m ceiling hold in H2 2026, or will continued demand from high-income buyers push the top of the market toward EUR 2m+?

Key People This Period

Name	Role	Notable Activity	Connections
Patrick Burke	Director	Director of Mercantile Entertainment Group (39/40 Dawson St, D2) since Feb 2017	Mercantile Entertainment Group (497340); Carraigeford Limited (Secretary)
Russell Gioiella	Director	Director of Mercantile Entertainment Group since May 2017; US-based	Mercantile Entertainment Group (497340); JT Magen connection (NYC)
Maurice Regan	Developer/Entrepreneur	Sole owner of Mercantile Group (Cafe en Seine, The George, Whelan's); built JT Magen construction empire in New York; received Ireland-US Council award June 2026	Business Post profile June 2026; Mercantile Entertainment Group
Unnamed applicant	Developer	Filed SDZ26A/0009W to amend Lucan SDZ from 877 to 924 units; decision due 1 July 2026	South Dublin County Council; Lucan SDZ planning framework
Unnamed applicant	Developer	Filed 97-unit Bolton Woods, Callan, Kilkenny application (2660332); decision due 28 July 2026	Kilkenny County Council; R95 ND32

One to Watch: The Tipperary Developer Behind Two Simultaneous Schemes

Tipperary's Twin-Track Developer

Planning applications 2660537 and 2660539 | Tipperary County Council | June 2026

Metric	Scheme 1 (Templemore)	Scheme 2 (Clonmel)
Units proposed	56	55
Floor area (sq m)	5,344	5,816
Site area (ha)	1.97	1.47
Application received	3 June 2026	3 June 2026
Decision due	28 July 2026	28 July 2026

What they do: This unnamed developer filed two substantial residential planning applications on the same day -- 3 June 2026 -- with the same planning authority (Tipperary County Council). The Kiltillane, Templemore scheme (E41 HC35) proposes 56 units across a mix of semi-detached, terraced, and duplex types. The Gort Na Manach, Clonmel scheme (E91 A2C3) proposes 55 units on a 1.47-hectare site with connections to existing infrastructure from five previous planning permissions dating back to 2005.

Why it matters: Filing two 50+ unit schemes simultaneously in the same county is unusual and suggests either a well-capitalised developer with a regional strategy or a consortium with multiple landholdings. At Tipperary's price points, both schemes are viable only if construction costs are tightly controlled and planning is granted without significant conditions. The Clonmel scheme's connection to infrastructure from a 2005 permission suggests a long-held landbank finally being activated -- a pattern seen across Ireland as developers who acquired land during the Celtic Tiger era begin to develop it at current prices. Watch for whether both schemes receive planning by late July 2026 and whether the same developer name appears on both grants.

The number that matters: 111 units across two schemes filed on the same day -- the equivalent of a small town's annual housing output, delivered by a single developer in a single planning cycle.

The Broader Picture: Courts, Companies, and the Week Ahead

The Companies Registration Office

The CRO index shows a data lag for the June 2026 period, with new company registrations not yet reflected in the searchable record -- a reminder that the register typically runs 4-6 weeks behind real-time activity. However, the CRO data for the period does confirm the status of key property-adjacent entities. Mercantile Entertainment Group Limited (company 497340) remains in Normal status at 39/40 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 (D02X067), with accounts filed to 31 December 2024 and an annual return due 30 September 2026. The company's principal object is listed as "Management activities of holding companies" -- consistent with its role as the vehicle through which Maurice Regan holds the Mercantile Group's Dublin hospitality portfolio. The CRO record does not show Maurice Regan as a named director; the company is directed by Patrick Burke and Russell Gioiella, with Carraigeford Limited as company secretary.

Company	Number	Status	Registered	Note
Mercantile Entertainment Group Limited	497340	Normal	07/04/2011	Dawson St D2; holding company for Mercantile Group venues
Dublin Mercantile Blending Company Limited	707169	Normal	02/11/2021	Foxrock D18; distilling and spirits
Synergy Mercantile Limited	802870	Normal	02/12/2025	Ballybofey, Donegal; financial services

0 new companies registered | 0 companies with CRO activity | 0 new business names registered Note: CRO registration data for June 2026 is subject to the standard 4-6 week indexing lag. The figures above will be updated as the register catches up with real-time filings.

The Irish Courts

No judgments were delivered in the June 2026 period that are currently indexed in the courts database -- a reflection of the same data lag that affects the CRO and property registers. However, the historical record of planning judicial reviews is directly relevant to the current pipeline. The courts have consistently scrutinised An Bord Pleanala decisions on density, height, and material contravention of development plans, with multiple permissions quashed in 2021-2024 on grounds of inadequate reasoning. This legal landscape shapes every large planning application currently in the system.

Citation	Parties	Subject	Why It Matters
[2023] IEHC 14	Jennings v An Bord Pleanala	Student accommodation permission quashed	Failure to consider open character of site; density calculation issues
[2024] IEHC 186	Murphy v An Bord Pleanala	Clonkeen Investments DAC residential development	Apartment guidelines, building heights, DLR development plan
[2022] IEHC 318	Monkstown Road Residents v An Bord Pleanala	290-unit Dalguise House, Monkstown	EIA screening, material contravention of height limits, protected structure
[2024] IEHC 301	Jones v South Dublin County Council	Development plan zoning challenge	Constitutional property rights vs proper planning; wide council discretion affirmed

Legal Risk to the Pipeline: The Lucan SDZ amendment (SDZ26A/0009W) and the Bolton Woods, Callan application (2660332) are both subject to the same legal landscape that produced these judicial reviews. The SDZ process offers some protection -- SDZ schemes are harder to challenge than standard permissions -- but the shift toward smaller units in the Lucan amendment could attract objections from residents' groups concerned about the impact on community infrastructure. Any judicial review would delay the scheme by 12-24 months.

Property Markets and Plans

The commercial property market in the period shows a wide range of transaction values, from EUR 4,800 for a unit in Cappoquin, Waterford to EUR 321,970 for a floor of Arena House, Sandyford. The Sandyford commercial market -- anchored by the Q House, Beacon South Quarter, and Arena House -- continues to register transactions, with Units 103-105 Q House (76 Furze Road) selling for EUR 90,000 and Arena House's first floor at EUR 321,970. These are not headline numbers, but they confirm that the Sandyford office and commercial market remains active at the sub-EUR 500k level.

Address	County	Price	Type
First Floor, Arena House, Sandyford, D18	Dublin	EUR 321,970	Commercial
Ground Floor, Units 1-2, Block 10 (Dublin)	Dublin	EUR 323,426	Commercial
Units 103-105 Q House, Furze Road, Sandyford	Dublin	EUR 90,000	Commercial
Aylesbury Clinic, Old Bawn Road, Tallaght	Dublin	EUR 200,000	Commercial
Unit 254, The Square Town Centre, Tallaght	Dublin	EUR 125,000	Commercial

The Week Ahead

The Irish property market enters July 2026 with a clear set of structural tensions. Prices in Dublin are rising modestly, but transaction volumes are falling -- down 7.6% in Dublin between April and May-June -- suggesting that affordability constraints are beginning to bite even at the top of the market. The planning pipeline is active, with 319 residential units proposed in June alone and the Lucan SDZ amendment decision due on 1 July, but the gap between planning applications and completed homes remains the defining challenge of the Irish housing market. The regional story is more encouraging: Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Donegal are all showing planning activity that, if converted to completions, could meaningfully add to national housing supply over the next 24-36 months.

The Bottom Line: Ireland's property market in mid-2026 is a tale of two pipelines. The transaction register shows a market where Dublin prices are rising and regional prices are volatile, with Meath surging and Galway softening. The planning register shows a market where the regions are building -- or at least applying to build -- at a pace that Dublin's planning system cannot match. The question for the second half of 2026 is whether the planning pipeline converts to completions fast enough to prevent another round of price acceleration in the autumn selling season.

What to Watch: (1) The South Dublin County Council decision on SDZ26A/0009W (Lucan, 924 units) due 1 July 2026 -- a grant will confirm the SDZ process as a viable densification tool; a refusal or challenge will set back Dublin's suburban supply pipeline. (2) Whether the Tipperary twin-scheme developer (applications 2660537 and 2660539) receives planning by late July -- a positive outcome would signal that regional housing delivery is accelerating. (3) Whether Cork's average price recovers in Q3 2026 or whether the May-June dip from EUR 342k to EUR 310k marks the beginning of a more sustained correction in Ireland's second city.