Housing completions up 35% compared to last year, figures show

There was a rise in the number of new homes built in the second quarter of the year, new figures show.

There were 9,214 new dwelling completions across April, May and June this year, according to the Central Statistics Office, a rise of 35 per cent on the same three months of 2024.

This is the second consecutive quarter that an increase in new home completions has been reported.

There were 4,643 scheme dwelling completions in the three-month period, an increase of 17 per cent from the same time last year.

The number of single dwellings completed was 1,518, up 13 per cent from last year.

More than half of the completions were scheme dwellings, 33 per cent were apartments, and 17 per cent were single dwellings.

There was an increase in completions compared to last year in six out of eight regions, including an 85 per cent rise in Dublin to 3,822 completions.

Commenting on the figures, Minister for Housing James Browne said: "Supply is central to dealing with all the key challenges in housing, so the figures published today are a welcome development and will be of huge benefit to the families and individuals who will live in these homes.

"Nonetheless, this Government remains committed to achieving its ambitious housing targets and I am determined to accelerate the pace of delivery to ensure even more substantial progress in the period ahead."

Ian Lawlor, managing director of Roundtower Capital, said the increase in housing completions was encouraging, but the figures were still nowhere near where they needed to be.

"Ultimately, unless there’s an exponential increase in housing delivery, steep house price and rent inflation will persist and homes will continue to be unaffordable for a large cohort of young people," he said.

"We are calling for emergency housing legislation that would fast-track developments of national importance, overriding the legal delays and local inconsistencies that currently hamper builders' ability to deliver projects efficiently.

"Just as Ireland demonstrated its capacity to build pandemic hospitals within weeks and mobilise resources overnight, we must now apply that same energy and coordination to housing delivery."