Government housing targets in jeopardy as new dwelling completions fall once again

CSO reported a more than 5% decrease in new homes built compared to the same period last year

The pledge by Simon Harris to build 250,000 new homes over the next five years has gotten off to a shaky start after official figures now point to just 12,700 new homes being built so far this year.

The Government's ambitious housing targets have been put at risk once again with the completion of new homes slowing in recent months.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday reported 6,884 new dwelling completions in the three months from April to June, reflecting a fall of 5.4% compared to the same period last year. 

This is the second consecutive month in which new dwelling completions have dropped.

The pledge by Simon Harris to build 250,000 new homes over the next five years has gotten off to a shaky start after official figures now point to just 12,700 new homes being built so far this year. This is a 8.6% decrease on the same period of 2023 in which there were 13,900 completions.

The latest figures show a marked decline in the number of new apartment completions, falling by more than 15% with just 1,566 built in the period. This is likely due to more than 10% drop in new completions in Dublin in the three months ending in June. 

There were 3,949 scheme dwelling completions during the period, down 1.8%, while the number of single dwellings completed was 1,369, down 3%.

The CSO reported that over 57% of completions were scheme dwellings, 22.7% were apartments, and 19.9% were single dwellings.

The number of completions fell in four of the eight regions of the Republic compared with April to June 2023. The region with the largest relative decrease in completions was the Mideast, comprising Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow, down by over 19%, followed by Dublin.

"The Government’s Housing For All target of building 33,450 units this year is in jeopardy," said BNP Paribas Real Estate.

"This is the legacy of a temporary slowdown in housing starts in 2022 when interest rate increases caused an interregnum between the retreat of private sector investment in housing and a compensating pick-up in public investment."

"However, with commencements up so strongly, we believe the medium-term trend in completions is positive and, following this year’s hiccup, housing output should power ahead in 2025 and beyond."