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Ireland is forecast to deliver the strongest rate of new housing completions across 19 European countries this year as it scrambles to reach completion targets.
Data from the EY-Euroconstruct monitor shows the level of housing completions per 1,000 of the population in Ireland at 5.9 in 2024, rising to 7.0 next year.
These levels are forecast to be more than 80% above the European average this year and 127% above the average in 2025.
Overall, Irish construction output — including non-residential and civil engineering — is forecast to grow by 1.4% in 2024 and by 6% in 2025, the highest in the Euroconstruct area.
Separate data from the CSO on home completions show just under 9,000 homes were completed in the third quarter of this year.
In the first nine months of this year, 21,643 new homes have been built, according to the CSO — 3% less than in the same period last year.
Various State and non-governmental bodies have set out targets of between 30,000 to 50,000 new homes required annually to overcome the long-standing housing shortage.
EY-Euroconstruct is forecasting that Ireland will build around 32,000 homes in 2024, before increasing to 38,000 in 2025 and 40,000 in 2026.
Annette Hughes, the director at EY Economic Advisory and member of Euroconstruct, said:
“These include multiple policy interventions to support and speed up the delivery of new homes and drive down the cost of construction, the reallocation of some capacity in the sector from commercial to residential construction, as well as a more positive — if still elevated — financing and interest rate environment.”
Ms Hughes said the expected 2024 out-turn represents a slight reduction on the previous forecast in June.
“This can be largely attributed to delays in the delivery of projects due to some infrastructure bottlenecks, funding and staffing challenges, as well as viability issues.”
For the wider Irish construction sector, the picture remains mixed due to a number of challenges — such as the inflation in building and construction materials over recent years which, although moderating, continues to impact the pricing of construction projects. Ms Hughes added:
Excluding residential construction, output in the remainder of the construction sector is expected to increase by 3.3% in 2024 — but growth is forecast to moderate to 0.8% in 2025 due to a contraction in new office buildings.
Separate data released on Monday shows workers in the construction industry were among the most in-demand professions this year with the sector facing an ongoing skills shortage.
A report from hiring platform IrishJobs found that site managers were the most sought after profession, with demand growing 39% in the past year.
The five most in-demand professionals were dominated by the construction sector, with site engineers in third position and project managers fourth most popular.
Accountants hold the position of the second most sought after role in the rankings.
Quantity surveyors, engineers, and senior site engineers also feature in the top 10 most in-demand professions along with electricians in ninth place.
The rankings align with data from the IrishJobs Jobs Index, published earlier this year, that showed the proportion of new job vacancies created in the construction sector has started to edge out the IT sector.