Why does it cost so much to build apartments in Dublin?

Except that's just not the case, because developers have turned their back on apartments because nobody (outside of AHBs) will buy them. "Increase profits" on something they won't build...eh what?!

Where did this idea that developers are all crafty come from exactly? They simply react to regulations and look to see if there will be a viable product at the end. They aren't morons so will take the highest profit they can but they simply can't make a profit here so won't build.

The "making them more attractive" has not worked. It's a complete failure in fact. In the post crash world the tinkerers got their hands on the regulations and went ott.

Simple reality is that the country has more than enough 3 bedroom houses (and overall bedroom capacity) to accommodate our needs and we need studios and one beds to beat the band.

Now what concerns me is that this won't be enough, because borrowing rules are so tight on single people looking to buy one beds. I do wonder if the Help to Buy scheme (and also the 10% equity rule for first time buyers) can be repeat used if it was first used for a studio or a one bed. If there were 20,000 a year of new studio and one beds in Dublin for sale on €350k-€400k I think we would be going a long way to solving the issues we have.

We can deal with this fantastical "European 3 bedroom apartments with loads of storage space" in a few years once we make a dent in the core problem.
 
rungun said:
The "making them more attractive" has not worked. It's a complete failure in fact. In the post crash world the tinkerers got their hands on the regulations and went ott.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what happened, in the wake of the crash the zealots took over. We entered the era of big government, big state but big state does not work in Ireland because we are not Scandinavians.
 
It’s not just the cost of an apartment. Keep in mind timeframes to any proposed changes in regulations on apartment design or standards.

I doubt any 100 unit apartment development has gotten planning permission in less than two years from appointing a design team. Say 4 months to do surveys, design, drawings. Planning 2 months, further information request 2 months (optimistic depending on what’s requested), 1 month to review submitted further information. 1 month for grant. Then appeal to the board. 18 months minimum for that. That’s 28 months.
Presuming it doesn’t go to judicial review (which often happens in large Dublin developments) then you’ve construction which will be another two years at best before an apartment is occupied. That’s 52 months. Whatever changes they introduce in apartment design won’t be felt for a long time.

Now here’s a bigger problem. These are draft regulations to change apartment designs. Government holidays start soon so it will be September or October before these regulations are introduced and signed into law. Add the 28 months for planning. That’s over 3 years into the current government. Contractors don’t like uncertainty so are likely to wait the 8-10 months until the next government term to see who gets into power and what rent freezes, caps, subsidies, etc are introduced which could greatly impact the financial viability of the project. Their other option is to sell them all off plans in one transaction to provide cost certainty but that doesn’t allow purchase by first time buyers on completion.
 
The extension of planning permissions though should hopefully mean the LDA can still mobilise sites where there are existing planning permissions. If this can be a "bridge" to these regulations coming into practical operation then that's a decent mitigation.

We will of course pay for it, as the specs on these PPs are at the high bar.
 
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