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HOUSING COMPLETIONS ROSE sharply in 2025, with more than 36,000 new homes finished across the country.
This is the highest annual total since records began in 2011 – but still more than 4,700 homes less than the government’s previous targets.
New figures published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show there were 36,284 new dwelling completions last year, an increase of 20.4% compared with 2024.
The biggest growth was in apartments, with completions up almost 39% year-on-year to 12,047 units.
Apartments now account for one-third of all new homes completed, up from just over 16% in 2019.
Scheme dwellings (homes built as part of housing estates) made up just over half of all completions in 2025, while single dwellings accounted for just over 16%.
Commenting on the figures, CSO statistician Steven Conroy said that the final quarter of the year saw particularly strong growth, with almost 12,000 new homes completed between October and December, a 38.5% increase on the same period in 2024.
Apartment completions in the final quarter alone were up more than 60% compared with The last three months of 2024, while scheme dwellings rose by 30% and single dwellings by almost 26%.
The figures come just months after the government abandoned their annual housing targets, instead committing to delivering at least 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030 under its current housing plan.
When the government was formed last January, it set a target of delivering 41,000 homes in 2025 as part of their wider commitment to building 300,000 homes, but that goal soon appeared out of reach.
By late last year, both the Central Bank and the ESRI were forecasting significantly lower delivery, and the government subsequently moved away from setting specific annual targets while reaffirming its 2030 commitment.
More than half of all new homes completed in 2025 were located in Dublin or the Mid-East region, which includes Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow.
Dublin accounted for 37.7% of all completions nationally, and nearly 80% of all apartments built during the year.
Clondalkin was the local electoral area with the highest number of completions in 2025, with 1,399 new homes, followed by the North Inner City and Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart.
Seven of the State’s eight regions recorded increases in completions compared with 2024, with the South-East the only region to see a slight decline.
The figures also show that almost 87% of new homes completed last year were located in urban areas.
Fianna Fáil housing spokesperson Séamus McGrath welcomed the figures, saying they point to “steady progress” in housing delivery.
“When these figures are considered alongside recent commencement data, there is a sense of momentum in housing,” McGrath said, adding that increasing supply remains central to addressing high house prices and rents.
Mortgage industry figures also said the rise in completions was encouraging but warned supply continues to lag behind demand.
Trevor Grant, chairperson of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said housing shortages remain the main driver of house price inflation, with high construction costs, labour shortages and infrastructure constraints continuing to limit delivery.
“It’s important the Government builds on this momentum,” Grant said.
“The biggest driver of Irish house price inflation is the shortage of homes coupled with the pent-up demand for housing and an expanding population.
Without a significant boost to housing supply, steep house price inflation will persist and homes will continue to be unaffordable for a large cohort of young people as well as the many others who wish to buy.
While 2025 saw a significant increase in housing output, housing groups continue to warn that completions remain well below what is needed to meet demand, particularly in Dublin, where pressure on rents, prices and homelessness remains acute.
Social Democarts TD Rory Hearne, the party’s housing spokesperson, said that the 2025 housing figure “falls significantly short of what’s required to tackle this crisis.”
“The CSO figures present a grim but unsurprising picture of government housing policy in freefall,” Hearne said.
“On the publication of its housing plan back in November, the government abandoned its own target of 41,000 house completions for 2025, knowing well it wouldn’t come anywhere close to achieving these numbers. It has today been confirmed that this target has been missed by 4,716 homes.”
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