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New Dwelling Completions Q3 2025

New Dwelling Completions in Q3 2025 up 4% from same quarter in 2024

Online ISSN: 2811-583X
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Key Findings

  • There were 9,235 new dwelling completions in July, August, and September (Q3) 2025, a rise of 4% on the same three months of 2024.

  • Apartment completions in Q3 2025 stood at 3,160, up 3% on the same quarter in 2024.

  • There were 4,551 scheme dwelling completions in Q3 2025, an increase of 1% from Q3 2024.

  • The number of single dwellings completed in Q3 2025 was 1,524, up 15% from Q3 2024.

  • Almost half of completions (49%) were scheme dwellings, 34% were apartments, and 17% were single dwellings.

  • The number of completions was up 35% in the Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) region in Q3 2025, compared with same quarter last year.

  • The Local Electoral Area (LEA) with the most completions in Q3 2025 was Clondalkin at 640.

  • There was a fall of 4% in seasonally adjusted new dwelling completions from Q2 2025 to Q3 2025.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (23 October 2025) published New Dwelling Completions Quarter 3 (Q3) 2025. The CSO uses new connections to the electricity network as the basis for statistics on new dwelling completions, a data source that is collected nationally by one organisation in a consistent manner for all dwellings (See Background Notes for more information).

Commenting on the release, Steven Conroy, Statistician, said: “The number of new dwelling completions in July, August, and September (Q3) 2025 was 9,235. This was an increase of 4% compared with the 8,883 completions in Q3 2024. 

In the first nine months of 2025 there were 24,325 new dwelling completions, which was an increase of 13% on the same period in 2024. Apartment completions between January and September 2025 were up 30% when compared with the same period in 2024.

Completions by Dwelling Type

There were 3,160 apartment completions in Q3 2025, which was up 3% on the same quarter in 2024. Scheme dwelling completions rose 1% from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025 to stand at 4,551. Single dwellings increased by 15% from 1,327 in Q3 2024 to 1,524 in Q3 2025. Almost half of all completions in Q3 2025 (49%) were scheme dwellings, 34% were apartments, and 17% were single dwellings.

Regional Breakdown

Five of the eight regions of Ireland saw a rise in completions from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025. The region with the largest relative increase in completions was the Mid-East region (Louth, Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow) at 35%, up to 1,776 in Q3 2025 from 1,317 in Q3 2024.

More than three in ten (36%) completions in Q3 2025 were in Dublin, with 19% in the Mid-East region. For Q3 2025, almost eight in ten (79%) apartment completions were in Dublin (2,496). In Dublin City, 97% of completions in the quarter were apartments. 

The most scheme dwelling completions were in the Mid-East region at 1,335 in Q3 2025. The South-West region (Cork City, Cork County, and Kerry) had the most single dwelling completions at 252 in Q3 2025. The most completions in Q3 2025 by Local Electoral Area (LEA) were in Clondalkin at 640."

Definitions for this release

Single dwellings are one-off dwellings connected to the ESB network.

Scheme dwellings are houses that form part of a multi-unit development of two or more houses connected to the ESB network.

Apartment dwellings are within a multi-unit development and are specifically identified by the ESB as apartments. 

New Dwelling Completions
 SingleSchemeApartmentTotals
Quarter 3 20241,3274,4983,0588,883
Quarter 3 20251,5244,5513,1609,235
 % change14.8%1.2%3.3%4.0%

Largest increase in single completions

There were 9,235 new dwelling completions in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 4% from the same quarter in 2024. Completions for single houses increased by 15% from 1,327 in Q3 2024 to 1,524 in Q3 2025. 

The Q3 data for 2025 also shows that:

  • Apartment completions rose 3% from 3,058 in Q3 2024 to 3,160 in Q3 2025. 
  • There was a 1% increase in scheme houses completed in Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024, up from 4,498 to 4,551.
  • Scheme dwellings accounted for almost half of new dwelling completions in Q3 2025 of which more than a third were apartments and 15% were single dwellings (See Figure 1 and Table 1).
Figure 1: Number of new dwelling completions by type of dwelling Q1 2020 - Q3 2025
Table 1: Number of new dwelling completions by type of dwelling, Q1 2011 - Q3 2025

ESB domestic connections dataset used as a primary source

The primary data source used for the New Dwellings Completions series is the ESB Networks new domestic connections dataset, where the date that the connection is energised determines the date of completion. It is accepted that the ESB domestic connections dataset is overestimating new dwellings and the CSO has adjusted for this overcount by using additional information from the ESB and other data sources.

ESB connections are classified into four categories: new dwelling completions, UFHDs (previously finished houses in Unfinished Housing Developments), reconnections and non-dwellings. The dwelling type (single, scheme, apartment) and urban-rural divide are defined by the ESB Network. See Background Notes for a more detailed discussion of the classification.

The New Dwelling Completions series is based on the number of domestic dwellings connected by the ESB Network to the electricity supply and may not accord precisely with geographical boundaries. The CSO has utilised other available data sources to validate and enhance the ESB connections dataset. However, this was only possible where the connections dataset could be confidently linked to another dataset using unique identifiers or by address matching. As the level of Eircode collection, coverage and storage increases across data sources in the housing sector, it is expected that the precision of estimates on new dwelling completions can be further enhanced.

The ESB connections data - with adjustments as detailed above - is the most consistent manner of measuring housing completions with connections made in the same way by one organisation, ESB Networks, across the country. No other currently available sources have this same level of consistency nor accuracy in identifying numbers of individual units.  

Student accommodation

There has been a significant level of construction output in the student accommodation sector. These are generally connected to the ESB Network as commercial connections and are therefore not included in the ESB domestic connections dataset used for the new dwelling completions. Further to this the data available on this sector is on a “bed space” basis and it is not currently possible to report on it as dwellings, which are self-contained units of living accommodation. Based on consultation with stakeholders in this sector, student accommodation may be included in future New Dwelling Completions reports as a separate category. Information on completed student bed spaces is provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). They have detailed to the CSO that there were 311 new bed spaces completed in Q3 2025. 

Increase in completions in urban areas

In Q3 2025 the number of completions in urban areas was 8,024, increasing 4% from 7,684 in Q3 2024. In rural areas, the number of completions rose to 1,211 in Q3 2025, up slightly from 1,199 in Q3 2024. Of all completions in the quarter, 87% were in urban areas (See Table 2).

Table 2: Number of new dwelling completions by urban-rural divide, Q1 2011 - Q3 2025

Over 35% rise in completions in Mid-East from same quarter last year

Five of the eight regions of Ireland saw rises in completions from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025, with a fall in the other three regions.

The largest relative regional increases were in the Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wicklow) (+35%), Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo) (+34%), and West (Galway City and County, Mayo, Roscommon) (+23%) regions. The decreases were in the South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) (-15%), Dublin (-11%) and the Mid-West (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary) regions.

More than three in ten (36%) completions in Q3 2025 were in Dublin, with 19% in the Mid-East region (See Figure 2).

Almost eight in ten (79%) apartment completions in Q3 2025 were in Dublin (2,496). In Dublin City, 97% of completions in the quarter were apartments. The most scheme dwelling completions were in the Mid-East region (1,335), while Kildare was the local authority with the most scheme completions (453). The South-West region (Cork City, Cork County, and Kerry) had the most single completions in Q3 2025 (252), with Cork County (163) the local authority with the most single dwelling completions (See Table 3).

Classification into local authorities has taken into account boundary changes between Cork City and Cork County which came into effect in May 2019. All historical data within the tables below and the PxStat interactive tables have been revised to now be based on the new boundaries. However, data within archived releases remain unchanged. 

Figure 2: Year on year comparison of new dwelling completions by region (Q3 2024 - Q3 2025)
Table 3: Number of new dwelling completions by type of dwelling and Local Authority, Q3 2025

Local Electoral Areas with most completions in Q3 2025 in Dublin

The most completions by Local Electoral Area (LEA) in Q3 2025 was in Clondalkin (640). Lucan (308) was the LEA with the second highest number of completions. Outside of Dublin, Cork City South-East (166) and Portlaoise (164) were the other LEAs in the top 10 with the most completions this quarter (See Map 1).

New dwelling completions by LEA going back to 2012 by year and quarter can be viewed in the PxStat tables NDA05 and NDQ09. There is also data available by Eircode Routing Key by year and quarter in PxStat tables NDA01 and NDQ07.

Map 1: New dwelling completions by Local Electoral Area Q3 2025

New dwelling completions and ESB connections

There was a total of 9,728 new domestic ESB connections in Q3 2025, an increase of 3.2% from 9,426 in Q3 2024. The ESB domestic connections series continues to show a comparable trend to the New Dwelling Completion (NDC) series compiled by the CSO as shown in Figure 3The number of new dwelling completions as a percentage of total ESB domestic connections was 95% in Q3 2025, which is the highest it has been since the series began in 2011.

There are still some small differences in volume between the two series. The starting point for the NDC series is the ESB domestic connections dataset, with adjustments made to account for previously finished houses in unfinished housing developments (UFHDs), reconnections and non-dwellings as shown in Figure 4 and Table 4.

Figure 3: New Dwelling Completions compared with ESB connections Q1 2020 - Q3 2025

Fall in reconnections

A property that is reconnected to the ESB Network after having been disconnected for more than two years is assigned a new Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) and is therefore included in the ESB new connections datasets and is here considered to be a reconnection. There were 306 reconnections in Q3 2025, a decrease of 22% from 392 in Q3 2024. This fall in reconnections after two years reflects the decline in Non-Payment of Account Disconnections since 2019 reported by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

The number of previously finished dwellings in unfinished housing developments (UFHDs) was low with 11 in Q3 2025. The number of non-dwellings, mostly farm buildings, rose by 31% from 134 in Q3 2024 to 176 in Q3 2025 (See Figure 4 and Table 4).

Figure 4: UFHDs, reconnections and non-dwellings Q1 2020 - Q3 2025
Table 4: Number of ESB connections by type of connection, Q1 2011 - Q3 2025

Type of connection and NUTS3 region

The highest number of reconnections in Q3 2025 was in the South-West region (59) followed by 47 in the West region. Non-dwellings were highest in the Border and West regions (both at 32) with the highest number of UFHDs in the Border and West (both at 4). Dublin had the highest proportion of connections being new dwelling completions (99%) with the Border region having the lowest (87%) (See Table 5).

Table 5: Number of ESB connections by type of connection and NUTS3 region, Q3 2025

Decrease in average new dwelling size in 2025

The average new dwelling size index over the first three quarters of 2025 was 68, down from 71 in 2024. This is likely due to the higher proportion of apartments built in this period. In general, the decrease in this index since 2016 is driven by both a growth in the proportion of completed dwellings being apartments and a fall in the size of dwellings, particularly single dwellings (See Table 6).

The average new dwelling size index is obtained by linking ESB connections to Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment data from the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) for new dwelling completions (See Table 7 in Background Notes for match rates).

Figure 5: Average new dwelling size index (2016 - 2025 Q3)

Provisional for 2025 based on first three quarters

Table 6: Average floor size and weight in mix of new dwelling completions for dwelling types by year (Q1 2011 - Q3 2025)

Around 4% fall in seasonally adjusted completions between Q2 2025 and Q3 2025

A seasonal adjustment has been applied to the new dwelling completions to show an additional measure of change over time. This allows for a quarter-on-quarter comparison. See Background Notes for more detail on the seasonal adjustment.

For all dwelling types, there was a 4% decrease in seasonally adjusted completions from 9,281 in Q2 2025 to 8,949 in Q3 2025. For apartment completions there was a larger decrease of 18% from 3,410 in Q2 2025 to 2,795 in Q3 2025. There was a 6% increase for scheme dwellings between Q2 2025 and Q3 2025, from 4,412 to 4,681 and there was a 1% rise for single dwellings, from 1,460 to 1,472 (See Figure 6).

Figure 6: Seasonally adjusted new dwelling completions by type of dwelling Q1 2020 - Q3 2025

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