Building of over 3,000 homes commenced in July

In July, the construction of 3,028 new homes began, marking a significant 169% increase compared to the same month last year when only 1,125 homes were commenced. According to figures from the Department of Housing, which will be released later today, the majority of these new commencements were multi-unit developments (1,612) followed by apartments (1,004) and individual houses (412).

Since the start of 2026, a total of 18,974 new homes have been commenced, a 152% rise from the 7,539 homes built in the first seven months of the previous year. This is the second highest number of new-home commencements since recording began in 2014.

Minister for Housing, James Browne, highlighted the positive momentum, noting that it builds on strong figures for 2024 and 2025, when a combined total of 85,723 new homes were commenced, a 43% increase compared to the previous two-year period (2022 and 2023). Browne emphasized his commitment to housing targets, stating that more homes need to be delivered and thousands of people are relying on this progress. He expressed no illusions about the challenges ahead.

While just over a quarter of these July commencements occurred in Dublin, earlier figures from the Central Statistics Office revealed that between January and March, 7,856 new homes were built, a third more than the same period in 2025 and the highest quarterly completions since 2011. However, for the second quarter of 2026, new home completions dropped to 8,823, a decline from the same period in 2025.

The government's housing plan aims to build 300,000 homes by 2030, averaging 50,000 per year. Despite this ambitious target, only 36,284 new homes were built last year, a 20% increase year-on-year and the highest figure in at least 15 years.