Mayo records one of Ireland’s highest vacancy and dereliction rates

Mayo continues to face significant housing challenges, with high levels of vacant and derelict properties, despite a major acceleration in residential construction nationwide during 2025.

The latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report (Q4 2025) reveals that while construction activity across the State increased by 25.5 percent last year, Mayo remains one of the counties most affected by housing underuse, with a vacancy rate of 10.3 percent, one of the highest in Ireland.

The national residential vacancy rate stood at a record low of 3.7 percent at the end of 2025, highlighting a sharp contrast between areas of strong demand and counties like Mayo, where a large proportion of homes remain unoccupied.

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The report also confirms that Mayo has the highest concentration of derelict residential properties in the country, accounting for 14.1 percent of all derelict homes nationally. An estimated 2,741 derelict buildings in the county are believed to have postal addresses, yet just 287 properties are currently listed on the local authority’s derelict sites register.

While the total number of derelict properties nationwide fell by 3.3 percent in the year to December 2025, Mayo remains at the top of the national table, ahead of Donegal and Galway.

Nationally, residential construction reached 27,931 buildings under development by December 2025, and more than 35,000 new residential address points were added during the year. However, the majority of this activity was concentrated in Dublin and the eastern region, with rural and western counties seeing far lower levels of new supply.

The findings highlight the ongoing imbalance in Mayo between housing availability and usage, with large numbers of vacant and derelict properties existing alongside demand for homes in towns and rural communities.