Slump in new home registrations

New home registrations hit a record low last month as the construction slowdown continued to bite.

The number of planned new houses registered with Homebond, the industry guarantee scheme, was just 925 in December, a slump of 60 per cent on the same month last year.

Overall, builders registered 27,619 new homes with the agency in 2007, just more than half the 51,729 listed in 2006, when a record 88,000 houses were built in the Republic.

While December is a traditionally slow month, industry sources and analysts agreed yesterday that the 925 registrations was the lowest in the Homebond scheme's 12-year history.

Registrations are seen as one of the most accurate guides to house building, which employed up to 180,000 people in the Republic at its peak in 2006.

Reacting to the figures yesterday, analysts said they provided further evidence that house building is slowing more rapidly than originally predicted.

Dermot O'Leary, chief economist with Goodbody Stockbrokers, predicted that the trend would be reflected in employment figures in 2008.

John Sheehan of NCB Stockbrokers said December's sharp fall was consistent with previous months, though the rate of decline was slowing. He added that the fall showed no signs of slowing.

He estimated that 78,000 new homes were built last year and predicted that between 40,000 and 45,000 will be completed this year.

Mr O'Leary said that up to 50,000 new houses could be built in the Republic in 2008.

That is about half the 2006 record. A fall-off on the scale predicted by these analysts would lead to widespread job losses in the industry.

Most new houses built in the Republic come with a 10-year guarantee that is underwritten by one of two agencies, Homebond, operated by the Irish Home Builders' Association (IHBA), or Premier.

Homebond is the larger of the two, accounting for around 70 per cent of all registrations. Premier covers the balance. It is expected to report next week.

Government, industry and other agencies use registrations to measure trends in residential building, as the schemes cover all new homes except once-off houses.

New homes have to be registered up to three weeks before foundation laying begins. They are generally built and ready to be occupied within nine months of being listed with one of the schemes.