Ireland – Research and development services and related consultancy services – Total Development Cost Study 2025

This Annual Total Development Cost Study for 2025 builds on the 2024 Total Development Cost Study to further explore critical cost areas in housing. The 2025 study will provide a comprehensive analysis of the total cost of residential development across various locations in Ireland, updated with Q1 2025 construction costs. It will focus on five regional areas provisionally Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and the North West and five typologies (See methodology) based on the standardised design approaches study. The study will perform a comparative assessment using urban and regional costs across the five selected locations, highlighting differences in land prices, service infrastructure, and labour availability in the regions. These insights will offer a regional view on the factors influencing development costs. The study will further refine its cost analysis findings by modelling alternative scenarios for financing, land acquisition and development firm models. By providing annual updates and a clear regional perspective, the study will establish a benchmark for residential development costs in Ireland, that can contribute to policy and industry practices toward more affordable delivery of housing Further to this, a detailed analysis of materials and finishes, which will evaluate their impact on construction costs, while considering quality and durability. This assessment will compare traditional construction methods with modern construction methods to identify cost efficiencies and potential savings. The study will carry out a comparison of the cost of construction for one typical house and one apartment building in one location using a typical category 1 panelised system and a selected category 2 volumetric system for each building. The study will also identify the cost reduction opportunities available with bathroom pods. Any other significant cost reduction from standardised components should also be identified. Part of this study is the evaluation of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). The study will consider costs in regards to four different methods of construction for one typology. The methods of Timber in Construction, Insulated Concrete Formwork, Light Gauge Steel and Traditional Concrete must be used in the types of buildings analysed. The report should outline the benefits of using MMC with a specific focus on improving efficiency and increasing scale in the construction of these types of buildings.