Property advisor Savills Ireland said the country's development land market in 2023 saw a reduction in activity as €515m worth of land was transacted.
It noted that 62% of this was traded in the final quarter of the year.
Savills acted in six of the top ten deals during the year.
The biggest deal involved the disposal of the former Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge to the US State Department for €152m, which represented the price paid for a cleared site. The purchase of the site will allow for the construction of a new embassy building once planning permission has been obtained.
Residential lands constituted over half of sales volumes in 2023 and Savills said the State's role in supplying housing was evident, including deals from both the Land Development Agency and Fingal County Council for sites in Clongriffin and Swords, at prices of €38m and €27m respectively.
The top five deals also featured two deals both worth €15m - the Comer Group's acquisition of the Rockbrook site in Sandyford ,while in Cork, a 73-acre site in Ballincollig changed hands.
Savills said it anticipates that residential sites will remain the preference for buyers, although demand for prime logistics land will also prevail.
Sites with planning permission in place are also going to continue to attract a premium, particularly due to the persistent delays with regard to navigating the current planning process. As a result, many funders view sites without planning as carrying too much planning risk currently, it added.
John Swarbrigg, Director of Development Land, said that demand for residential sites with planning persists, underpinned by the continued need for housing delivery.
"At the moment, larger sites trading without planning permission are typically more strategic in nature, as evidenced by the price disparity. However; oportunitic buyers who can support a purchase of these type of assets will reap the rewards once they have managed to obtain an implementable grant of planning permission," he said.
"2024 is also likely to see continued State participation, specifically AHB's, Local Authorities and in particular as the Land Development Agency continue to accelerate their residential delivery mandate.. While challenges remain, there is positivity in the market as interest rate cuts will reduce debt costs and spur on activity this year," he added.
Raymond Tutty, Head of Planning at Savills, noted that the Planning and Development Bill 2023 is a welcome review of the planning system.
"Planning resources are a key factor to the success of the Bill and significant attention should be placed on staffing not just An Bord Pleanála but also the local councils which are reporting acute shortages of planners. Without these resources, the administrative power to clear the backlog of applications and processing of new applications will still be delayed," he added.
