Drogheda leads the nation with shortest wait for first home ownership in the country
Drogheda Rural has recorded the fastest rate of growth in the country for budding first‑time buyers waiting for the keys to their new home, according to a new national analysis.
The findings have emerged from wide ranging research carried out for the website onemillionhomes.ie, which examined the housing prospects of 18‑ to 44‑year‑olds across Ireland.
The report identifies Louth as one of the fastest‑moving counties in terms of new housing delivery, with the county’s new‑build output rising by 24 per cent in 2025.
Louth has also secured a top national ranking for “First Time Buyer Newbuilds” per 1,000 people. The county recorded an annual rate of 3.28 new homes, placing it just behind Kildare, which topped the list at 3.58.
Drogheda Rural emerged as the single fastest‑developing local electoral area in the country. A total of 630 homes were built last year for the 18‑44 population cohort of 5,015 people who do not yet own their own home.
The rapid pace of construction means prospective first‑time buyers in the area face an estimated wait of eight years — the shortest wait time in Ireland.
Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr Michelle Hall, welcomed the findings, describing the area as “the strongest performing area in Ireland” and noting that it also recorded “the fastest rate of home‑building nationally.”
Posting on social media, she wrote: “No other electoral area in the state performs better.” She said the opening of the Northern Cross Route — which unlocked significant landbanks for housing — was central to the surge, following years of planning work.
The analysis also links homebuilding to long‑term community sustainability, identifying Drogheda Rural as the only electoral area in the country that is currently building enough homes to sustain future GAA teams.
While Drogheda Rural posts the strongest figures, the picture varies sharply across the rest of the county.
By contrast, the wait time for first time buyers in Drogheda Urban is 42.9 years, and progress there was described as “collapsing”.
Meanwhile, young adults in the Ardee local electoral area face a 52.1 year wait to own their first home.
And in Dundalk South first-time buyers face an estimated 22.1 year wait for a new home. Despite this, the area remains classified as “surging,” ranking 20th out of 166 electoral areas nationwide due to an 80 per cent increase in housing construction over the past five years.
The research shows the estimated wait for first time buyers in the Dundalk-Carlingford local electoral area is much longer, at 35.8 years.
Countywide, Louth’s homeownership rate among 18‑ to 44‑year‑olds has risen to 21.1 per cent — an increase of 4.7 per cent since 2022.
But despite the recent gains, 38,589 young adults in the county remain “locked out” of homeownership unless building levels increase further.
The onemillionhomes.ie study compares fixed census population data with the number of new homes built in each local electoral area. The figures apply only to new builds and do not include second‑hand home purchases.
Website co‑founder Edward Dixon said the tool was created to help communities understand how long it takes to secure a home.
“Having your own space is hugely important to the now 1.5 million 18‑44s not owning in Ireland — or the many returning back — or the one million graduates and apprentices a decade,” he said. “All three are currently excluded from housing plans and economic plans in every parish, district, Eircode and county in Ireland.”
The authors are encouraging the public to make contact with their TDs and councillors to highlight the figures for their local electoral area, and have included an ‘easy click’ method to email public representatives in each electoral area.
For detailed information log on to: onemillionhomes.ie