More than €5B of institutional money is targeting the residential investment sector in Ireland, according to CBRE research.

European investors account for the biggest portion of this capital at 32%, followed by investors from Ireland (21%), Canada (15%), the U.K. (14%), the U.S. (10%) and the Middle East (8%).

More than €500M of residential investment transactions were completed in the first six months of this year — nearly twice the annual average volume traded in the market since 2012.

Among the biggest deals of the half were Kennedy Wilson buying 274 units and a 4-acre site at the Grange in Sandyford for €160M, Irish Life Investment Managers acquiring 262 apartments at Fernbank in Churchtown for €138.5M and Carysfort Capital paying €101M for Six Hanover Quay, which has 120 apartments.

Build-to-rent assets made up 25% of all commercial property investment spend between January and June, up from an average of 9% between 2012 and 2017.

Dublin has seen the vast majority of investment in this sector, but things are starting to change and there has been increased activity in cities like Cork and Galway recently. The research notes that while 100% of investment in this sector happened in Dublin in 2012, the city's share had dropped back to 76% in the first half of this year.