A total of 36,284 homes were built in Ireland last year, an increase of 20.4% on 2024, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office.
The figures are higher than most economists had expected and represent the largest number of completions since 2011 when figures were first complied.
Housing completions for 2024 came to 30,147, which was a fall on 2023 when there were 32,695 homes built.
The Government has abandoned using annual targets and instead set an aim of building 300,000 homes between 2025 and the end of 2030, but in a document published in January of last year it set a target of 41,000 for 2025.
The CSO figures published today for 2025 show that there was a 38.7% surge in apartment building last year.
More than half of the completions last year were in Dublin or surrounding counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow.
By electoral area, the most completions in 2025 were in Clondalkin in Dublin.
The 20% increase in home building for last year will come as a relief for the Government which has been under political pressure due to rising homelessness, escalating house prices and accelerating rents.
However, observers point out between 50,000 and 60,000 homes need to be built a year to deal with the housing shortfall.
The Taoiseach has described as very significant the number of housing completions in 2025.
But Micheál Martin said he accepted that the figures still are not sufficient and more needs to be done to increase the number of housing completions to 50,000 per year, and to maintain those figures for a decade to meet population growth.
Kate English, Chief Economist at Deloitte, said the first six months of 2026 will be the ultimate housing test for the Government, adding there needs to be at least 20,000 completions to be on track to meet Government housing targets for this year.
"If we don't see an improvement in the first half of 2026, then it's certain that 2026 will be another year of missed Government targets. We need to see a rise in both housing commencements and completions figures if there is to be any confidence from people in Ireland," Kate English said.
She noted that December saw 3,065 homes commencing construction, the only month in 2025 to pass 2,000 units, with apartments being a key driver of the rise in the month.
"2025 was marked by significant housing policy announcements - this year the implementation of these policies will be critical in order for them to start to have an impact on the market," the economist said.
"This implementation phase has already commenced, as Cabinet approved the publication of the Residential Tenancies Bill this week, which the Government's ambition being to encourage investment in the rental market and protect renters," she said.
"The first half of 2026 will be a busy period for Government, with many of the actions from the infrastructure taskforce plan also assigned to the first half of this year," she added.
Additional reporting: Paschal Sheehy
