New home completions down on last year putting housing targets at risk

New home completions slowed in the second quarter of 2024, putting the Government’s housing targets for the year at risk.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), there were 6,884 new dwelling completions between April and June this year, a fall of 5.4 per cent on the same period last year. It meant the half-year total of 12,730 completions was down 8.6 per cent on the corresponding period last year.

The CSO’s latest figures point to a fall-off in apartment completions, which stood at 1,566 for the second quarter, down over 15 per cent on the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, there were 3,949 scheme dwelling completions during the period, down 1.8 per cent, while the number of single dwellings completed was 1,369, down 3 per cent.

While last year saw just under 33,000 units completed, the latest data points to a slowdown in residential activity, suggesting the industry may struggle to meet the State’s target of 33,450 completions for 2024.

The Government’s Housing for All strategy targets 36,100 completions in 2025 and 36,900 in 2026, but these targets are expected to upgraded later this year on the back of revised estimates of housing demand.

According to a statment from BNP Paribas director of research John McCartney, the latest drop in completions 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".

He said, however, that 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".