A generation's relationship with homeownership is being fundamentally reshaped, and the built environment must respond at pace. Permanent TSB's Reflecting Ireland Housing and Homeownership 2026 report, published on 24 August 2026 and based on 1,000 adults, reveals that 52% of under-35s believe they will never buy a home. Some 61% are considering social housing and 55% are planning for long-term renting. Overall, 72% of respondents express concern about Ireland's housing market, up from 69% last year. For leaders in residential development and building, these are the most powerful demand signals the sector has received: unmet need is structural, persistent, growing.

PTSB chief sustainability officer Leontia Fannin described the findings as reflecting a clear shift among younger adults increasingly considering alternatives to ownership. For building and architecture practices, this is not a shrinking client base but a diversifying one. Residential architecture serving social housing, build-to-rent, and affordable purchase schemes is where the most durable and publicly supported briefs now lie.

The 43% who would consider social housing, with one in four renters newly open to it, is a direct brief for the sector. Northern Ireland's Housing Supply Strategy targets 100,000 homes by 2039, with a third as social housing, backed by over GBP 207 million. In the Republic, the government and the Land Development Agency are commissioning social and affordable units at scale. Firms with capability in social housing design, fixed public contract delivery, and residential planning track records will be best positioned to capture this pipeline.

More than nine in ten respondents expect house prices to keep rising and future generations to face greater barriers. With 53% expecting economic conditions to worsen over the next 12 months, demand is rising for affordable, energy-efficient homes. Sustainable buildings with A-rated BER ratings now command measurable price premiums in Ireland and sell faster, making energy performance a central variable in the residential brief rather than an optional enhancement.

Three boardroom priorities follow. First, develop social and affordable housing capability, positioning for Land Development Agency pipelines and local authority frameworks expanding in both jurisdictions. Second, treat energy performance as a commercial differentiator, embedding BER A-rated construction standards into standard residential specifications. Third, engage with PTSB's research findings in client communications, demonstrating that residential offerings respond to the affordability and tenure realities that buyers and tenants are navigating.

The PTSB report is one of the starkest demand signals the Irish building sector has received. A generation that has abandoned homeownership has not abandoned the need for quality housing; it has redirected that need toward social, affordable, and rental models. For the building and architecture sector, the 52% figure is not a barrier. It is a brief, and firms that design and deliver against it will shape Ireland's residential landscape for the next two decades.