The volume of housing commencements rose sharply at the beginning of this year, with 30,138 housing units started in the first four months of 2024.
Data from the Banking and Payments Federation (BPFI) show the figures for the early part of this year were vastly ahead of last year, when approximately 32,800 units were commenced in all of 2023.
The increase was largely driven by apartment commencements, which accounted for 42 per cent.
However, the federation warned efforts are needed to increase the labour capacity in the construction industry in order to deliver housing units in line with the upsurge in commencements.
This comes as completions slumped by 12.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of last year.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes described indications in the labour market as "somewhat positive", noting employment in the construction sector increased from 147,500 in Q1 of 2020 to 171,700 in the corresponding period of 2024.
He added there is also potential for workers from other construction areas which are experiencing slowdowns, such as office building, to provide additional capacity for home building.
Overall, Mr Hayes said demand for housing is expected to remain high, aided by declining overall inflation levels.
