A late surge in completions of new dwellings during the final quarter of 2020 brought figures close to 2019 levels, despite slumps in the second and third quarter of last year according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A 1.9 per cent decline was recorded year-on-year, however 7,400 dwelling were completed between October and December, marking a 15.9 per cent increase on the same period in 2019.
In total, 20,676 new dwellings were completed last year, largely fuelled by growth in the number of apartments being built, up 14.5 per cent on 2019's figures.
However, there were declines in the number of single and scheme dwellings completed last year, falling by 2.6 and 6.3 per cent respectively.
The largest number of completions were in the Dublin and mid-east regions, accounting for more than half of 2020's figures, followed by Nass and Galway.
In the final quarter of the year, more than three quarters of apartment completions were in Dublin, while the mid-east accounted for 19.3 per cent of total scheme dwelling completions and the west had the largest number of single swelling completed.
Data from the CSO, linking ESB domestic connections and BER assessments, also indicates that the average size of new dwelling is continuing to decline, decreasing by 3.8 per cent last year, largely driven by apartment building and decreases in the size of single dwellings.
Commenting on today's release, chief executive of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV) Pat Davitt said: "It is to be hoped that with positive trends on virus infections and the coming on stream of vaccines, that the current lockdown can be lifted sooner rather than later.
"But, even at that, it will take some time for supply levels to reach anywhere close to reaching demand, given wider issues with the supply of new homes.
"The Central Bank has estimated we will need to build 34,000 new homes every year up to 2030, so there is a long way to go."
