Planning permission was granted for 2,308 new homes in the first quarter of 2013, up 24.7 per cent on the previous quarter, according to the Central Statistics Office.

Planning permission was granted for 1,860 houses in the first three months of the year, an increase of 31 per cent on the 1,420 granted permission in the last quarter of 2012.

Meanwhile, permission was granted for 448 apartment units, compared with 431 units for the previous quarter.

One-off houses accounted for 33.5 per cent of all new dwelling units granted permission in this quarter.

The figures reveal total floor area planned was 930,000sq m in the first quarter of 2013. Of this, 42.4 per cent was for new dwellings, 39.4 per cent for other new constructions and 18.2 per cent for extensions.