Home commencement levels have fallen to levels last recorded in 2020 and are now below the 10-year average.
That’s according to new figures from the Department of Housing which shows that 24,499 housing commencements took place between June 2025 and May 2026, the fourth lowest level in a decade.
Similar levels of homebuilding were last recorded in 2019 and 2020, when 24,438 and 23,617 new homes were started in each comparable 12-month period.
In response to the trend, a Department of Housing spokesman told The Irish Times that the period from January to May 2026 recorded the second highest commencement total since the department started to track commencements in 2015.
Some 13,000 homes were commenced since the beginning of this year, which was an increase of 161% on the 5,033 homes in the first five months of last year.
This tallies with comments from Housing Minister James Browne, who last week week said there had been “strong momentum” as construction started on 2,099 units in May, a 103% increase on the 1,035 homes that commenced construction in May 2025.
The 24,499 home commencements recorded on a rolling basis to the end of May 2026 was below the 10-year average of 28,533 homes.
The latest levels are down on the 27,855 start rate in the year that ended in May 2023, and 30,233 rate recorded between June 2021 and May 2022.
In 2023 and 2024 commencement levels spiked due to incentives introduced by the Government, with 52,665 and 41,493 homes begun on 12-month rolling periods that ended in May.
This rise came after the state granted home builders waivers on local authority charges and refunds on water connection fees if they started construction in these years. In the 2024 calendar year commencement levels peaked at 69,000 homes.
A department spokesman said the fall in commencements in 2025 “was not unexpected” given the large number lodged in the two years previous.
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