Nearly four thousand homes commenced in August

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage show that 3,880 new homes began construction in August, an increase of 231% compared to August 2025.

The Government say that the total number of new homes commenced since the start of the year is 22,854, up from 8,711 in the same period of 2025.

When looking at the two-year period of 2024 and 2025 combined, a total of 85,723 new homes were commenced, an increase of 43% compared with the combined total of 2022 and 2023.

James Browne, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, said: “The momentum in new home starts continues apace and reflects the many positive changes we have made to create an enabling environment for building new homes. The growth in commencements is also echoed in the latest CSO data on planning permissions, also published today. They show an increase of 60% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 to 11,912 units, up from 7,447 units when compared with Q2 2025 and the highest number of units approved since Q4 2021.

“Ultimately, final completions are the real measure of delivery – when those keys are in the hands of a homeowner or a family supported with housing - but commencement rates and planning permissions indicate a direction of travel and the continuation of an ongoing and sustainable pipeline for new homes. On that basis, today’s figures are very welcome.”