Q2 home completions up 35% compared to last year – CSO

Housing completion figures show that 9,214 homes were built in April, May and June of this year, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The figures show a 35% increase on the same period in 2024, mainly boosted by a rise in apartment construction.

It means that 15,149 homes have been built so far this year.

Last year there were 30,206 units completed.

The Government’s current target for completions is 41,000 for 2025.

Housing experts say more than 50,000 homes need to be built annually to deal with the housing crisis.

The CSO figures show 3,053 apartments were built in April, May and June of this year which was more than double the same time last year.

There were 4,643 homes built in housing schemes, a 17% increase from the second quarter of last year.

“There were 3,053 apartment completions in Q2 2025, which was up 101% on the same quarter in 2024,” the CSO said.

Single dwellings increased by 13% to 1,518 compared the second quarter of last year.

The local electoral area with the most completions in the second quarter of this year was Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart in Dublin.

Commenting on today’s figures, Ian Lawlor, managing director of Roundtower Capital, said that unless there is 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.

“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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Mr Lawlor said the revised National Development Plan is a huge step in the right direction.

But he added that the Government must deliver on the plan and must prioritise the delivery of the major infrastructure projects that this country needs.

“Ambitious housing targets are all well and good – but without proper planning, joined-up thinking and the necessary infrastructure, these promises will simply never be lived up to,” he stated.

Kate English, the chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, said that while first half completions are the highest in more than a decade, commencements are at their lowest in a decade, showing the negative impact of planning delays, uncertainty around Government policy and infrastructure constraints on future delivery.

“Completion figures confirm that there is practically zero possibility of reaching housing targets this year unless something remarkable happens in the second half of 2025,” Kate English said.

“An examination of commencement figures for the mid-way point of 2025 does not leave much room for optimism in 2026. The low commencement figures are concerning because this shows how our future pipeline is performing,” she said.