A new reports show that development land deals totalled €589m last year across 83 transactions, resulting in an average deal size of €7m.
The report from property advisor Savills Ireland also reveals that Dublin accounted for 56% of transaction values, which was below the five-year average of 70%.
The Greater Dublin Area counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow accounted for 32% of the market share, while 8% of the deals were in Cork.
The number of transactions fell by just 1% compared with 2024, but total value declined by 21%, Savills noted.
"Although this performance appears weak relative to previous years, the headline figure masks an important dynamic: there has been a decline in the number of deals with planning approval in place," it said.
"As planning permission typically commands a premium, this shift in deal composition helps explain why aggregate value fell despite transaction volumes remaining broadly stable," it added.
Savills noted that housing delivery increased by 20% to 36,300 units last year, as the market continues to move in the right direction.
The increase was helped by increased commencements from the middle of 2024, as developers accelerated activity ahead of the expiry of development levy waivers.
As planning permissions are valid for five years, there was sufficient latent capacity within the system to facilitate this pull-forward in housing starts, it added.
John Swarbrigg, Director of Development Agency and Consultancy at Savills Ireland, said that while new planning permissions declined, it is possible that activity last year was tempered by the revision to apartment design standards introduced last year.
He said that some developers opted to wait for clarity on the final framework before progressing applications.
"One of the big challenges in the market currently is the lack of supply of land, and while it is encouraging to see some local authorities moving forward with variations to their development plans, the overall progress report thus far is certainly a little underwhelming," he said.
