Housing commencements in the first ten months of the year were only sightly higher than in 2016, new figures show.
A new report from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows that building on over 11,600 units started during that period.
By local authority, the most units commenced during 2025 so far have been in Dublin City, followed by Cork County, and Fingal. Only 20 units have commenced building in Galway City during that time.
Today's report predicts that housing completions are expected to reach around 35,000 units this year.
Almost 33,000 new dwellings were completed in the twelve months ending September 2025, up from about 31,700 during the same period in 2024.
"In the third quarter of the year, completions were 4% higher than the same period in 2024," said Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of BPFI.
"Completion activity is on average much higher in the last quarter of a year; notwithstanding the fact that completions levels in the last quarter of 2024 was weak.
"If similar levels of housing output seen in the last quarter of 2023 is achieved in the last quarter of this year, we expect total housing completion numbers to reach around 35,000 units in 2025," he added.
When it comes to jobs, the report shows that the number of people employed in the construction industry in skilled trades has fallen by around 35% since 2007, with significant gaps in key trades such as plastering, tiling, painting and plumbing.
"This slowdown in housing starts and potential labour constraints could impact future output," Mr Hayes said.
