The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has released commencement data for December 2025, revealing a significant spike in residential construction activity.

A total of 3,065 new units were commenced during the month, exactly doubling the 1,533 units recorded in November.

This robust end-of-year performance marks December as the most active month for new starts in 2025. The data also highlights a major shift in building practices, with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) now integrated into 70% of new homes within scheme developments. Furthermore, MMC is being utilised in over 40% of all new apartment builds, a move intended to drastically reduce construction timelines.

The surge in activity aligns with the recent AIB Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which indicated a return to growth for new orders in December. This momentum is attributed to rising client demand, increased staffing levels, and a generally positive outlook for the construction sector heading into 2026.

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While the total for 2025 reached 16,412 units—a decrease from the record-breaking 2024 figures that were bolstered by the development levy waiver—the long-term trend remains upward. Between 2024 and 2025, 85,723 units were commenced, representing a 43% increase over the 2022-2023 period. Over the past five years, the industry has seen a total of 176,206 commencements.

Of the units started in December, 1,820 (59%) were apartments, 979 (32%) were scheme dwellings, and 266 (9%) were one-off houses.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, said: "This strong jump in the delivery of new home starts at the end of 2025 is very encouraging and signals the uptick in confidence in the construction sector. We need to ensure we deliver on our ambitions of 300,000 new homes by 2030.

"This growing confidence across construction is built on decisive policy interventions we have taken since I became Minister for Housing last year. I have been absolutely relentless in pursuing delivery of homes at pace and at scale across the country both in activating policy change as well as a laser focus on planning and local authority engagement.

"The urgent work ongoing is not just about public delivery of social and affordable – it is about seeing a serious increase in what is private home building.

"We now have a new Housing Action Plan which not only delivers record government investment but also commits to creating the best possible environment for housing delivery, not least an increased emphasis on providing the necessary infrastructure. As we continue to implement this plan, I would expect to see commencements rise this year – and year on year."