15,946 Housing Starts Signal Ireland’s Expanding Residential Development Pipeline
First-half commencements rise 149% as apartment-led activity and growing MMC adoption reinforce investment case for residential delivery
17 July 2026 | editor@irishrealestate.news
Ireland’s residential development pipeline strengthened significantly during the first half of 2026, with almost 16,000 new homes commencing construction, reinforcing the scale of future delivery and highlighting sustained activity across the country’s housing market.
New figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage show that 15,946 homes commenced construction between January and June, representing a 149% increase on the 6,414 commencements recorded during the same period in 2025. June alone accounted for 2,826 new housing starts, more than double the 1,381 units commenced in June last year.
For institutional investors, developers and international capital targeting Ireland’s residential market, commencement data provides one of the earliest indicators of future supply. While commencements do not automatically translate into completed homes, they provide a clear measure of developer confidence, financing activity and projects progressing into active construction.
The latest figures build on an already elevated development pipeline. Across 2024 and 2025 combined, 85,723 homes commenced construction, 43% higher than during 2022 and 2023, suggesting that development activity has continued to accelerate rather than plateau.
Apartments continued to dominate new construction activity during June. Of the 2,826 homes commenced, 1,765 units, or 62%, were apartments, while 582 units (21%) were houses within multi-unit developments and 479 units (17%) were one-off dwellings.
The concentration of apartment commencements reflects continued investment in higher-density urban schemes, particularly within Dublin and other major cities where institutional capital remains heavily focused on professionally managed rental and mixed-tenure residential developments.
Geographically, almost two-fifths of June commencements were located within the four Dublin local authorities. Dublin accounted for 1,074 new starts, representing 39% of all homes commenced nationally during the month.
At local authority level, Dublin City recorded the highest number of commencements with 789 units, followed by Cork City with 328 and Meath County with 262. The figures continue to demonstrate that activity remains concentrated within Ireland’s largest urban growth centres and commuter counties where population growth and housing demand remain strongest.
Alongside rising construction activity, the Department’s latest data also highlights the continued integration of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) across the residential sector.
Eighty per cent of housing schemes commencing during the first half of 2026 indicated an intention to use MMC, while 37% of apartment developments also plan to incorporate MMC techniques.
Timber frame remains the dominant MMC system within housing developments, accounting for 66% of scheme dwellings intending to use MMC. Other technologies include insulated concrete formwork at 9%, masonry block at 19% and other systems at 6%. Within apartment construction, reinforced concrete remains the principal construction method at 35%, with precast concrete accounting for 25%, masonry block 24%, insulated concrete formwork 4%, timber frame 3% and light gauge steel 2%.
The Department’s accompanying MMC data also illustrates the structural shift taking place within Irish housebuilding. Timber frame’s market share has grown from approximately 20% in 2008 to 37% by 2019, while Government monitoring shows the proportion of housing schemes intending to use timber frame has increased from 61% during the second half of 2025 to 66% during the first six months of 2026.
The increasing adoption of offsite and industrialised construction methods is becoming an increasingly significant consideration for investors evaluating delivery risk, programme certainty and construction productivity, particularly as Ireland seeks to expand housing output towards longer-term national supply targets.
The commencement figures also indicate continued confidence across the residential development sector despite ongoing pressures around infrastructure delivery, planning complexity and construction costs. As projects move from commencement through to completion over the coming 18 to 36 months, the data suggests that Ireland’s active residential pipeline remains considerably stronger than during previous years.
For international investors assessing the Irish market, the combination of sustained commencement growth, continued apartment delivery and expanding adoption of MMC provides further evidence of a residential sector that continues to scale, supported by both public policy and sustained private capital investment.