- Funding approved for 15,186 homes in 206 developments in 25 counties (65% houses, 35% apartments) to date
- 48% of HBFI-funded homes are for owner-occupiers, 39% for social/affordable housing, 5% Part V and 8% for renters
- 8,852 HBFI-funded homes are either already sold, contracted for sale or sale agreed
05 August 2025
Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), set up by the Government to fund the delivery of new homes, has grown total loan approvals to €3.0bn at the end of June 2025. This increase of almost 13% on the €2.7bn at the end of 2024 demonstrates strong ongoing demand for HBFI funding.
HBFI’s H1 2025 performance update, published today, shows new loan approvals of €336m in the first 6 months of the year. This strong performance followed an elevated level of approvals in H2 2024, which had been driven by a number of housebuilding firms accelerating plans for their 2025 funding arrangements.
At the end of June 2025, HBFI had approved funding for a total of 15,186 new homes in 206 developments, across 25 counties.
5,514 HBFI-funded units have already been sold, with a further 3,338 contracted for sale or sale agreed as at the end of June 2025.
Of the €3.0bn approved, drawdowns have taken place in respect of facilities totalling €2.25bn (75%), for 135 developments supporting 12,251 homes where construction is in progress or has completed. HBFI typically expects a time lag of between 3 and 6 months between a loan being approved and its first drawdown.
Individual loan facilities range from €1m to €113m, with an average size of €14.6m. These facilities are for an average term of 22 months.
Today’s H1 performance update also shows there has been strong demand from SME housebuilders, with 83% of loan amounts approved to date at €20m or less.
Additionally, 88% of loans approved to date by HBFI provide more than 65% of the project costs (i.e. LTC >65%), showing this demand for funding reflects the continued equity constraints facing many housebuilders.
HBFI Progress Update
Today’s progress update shows that, as at the end of June 2025, HBFI’s key metrics compared to December 2024 and June 2024 were as follows:
End June 2025 |
End Dec 2024 |
End June 2024 |
|
Approvals |
€3.002bn |
€2.666bn |
€2.054bn |
No. of units supported |
15,186 |
13,186 |
11,200 |
No. of developments |
206 |
184 |
162 |
Average facility size |
€14.6m |
€14.5m |
€12.7m |
Average development size |
74 units |
72 units |
69 units |
HBFI Chief Executive Dara Deering said:
“We have continued to make a valuable contribution to Ireland’s housing supply in the first half of 2025, as today’s figures show funding approved for over 15,000 new homes and across 25 counties in Ireland to date.
Now in our seventh year of business, we have seen steady growth in total loan approvals and the increase reflects the ongoing appetite among small, medium and large housebuilding companies for finance to help meet the demand for new homes.
The recently published third review of HBFI, by the Minister for Finance under Section 24 of the HBFI Act, shows the continuation of HBFI funding remains necessary given prevailing market conditions.
We will continue to engage with the market to ensure we understand their needs and continue to identify potential funding gaps, in order to support the delivery of new homes.”
Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, said:
“Today’s update of HBFI’s H1 2025 performance shows the important role HBFI continues to play in providing funding for the building of new homes across the country. HBFI has now since its inception approved funding of €3.0bn which equates to over 15,000 new homes.
Increasing the supply of housing is one of the key priorities for this Government and HBFI’s product range and flexibility to adapt to an evolving market is clearly helping to deliver on this. HBFI has been able to support small, medium and large developers in 25 counties to build houses and apartments across all tenure types.
My Department recently published the third periodic review of HBFI as required under Section 24 of the HBFI Act. Following this review, I remain satisfied that HBFI continues to fulfil its functions and remains a necessary part of the debt funding market.”
Measures announced by HBFI to support improved housing supply
Since its establishment HBFI has announced a number of initiatives to support small, medium and large housebuilders:
- In the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, HBFI launched a new €200m (subsequently extended to €300m) Momentum Fund for large developments in prime locations. This fund is now closed for new applications.
- In 2020, extending HBFI’s existing offering to include more large-scale housebuilding firms, by doubling the upper limit for individual HBFI loans from €35m to €75m with an ability to increase further, for qualifying schemes under HBFI’s normal assessment criteria.
- In 2020, extending HBFI’s existing offering to include smaller housebuilding SMEs, reducing the previous minimum size requirement of 10 units to 5 units.
- A product specifically aimed at social housing with reduced fees, acknowledging the reduced risk once the units are completed.
- In 2021 a new Green Loan product was launched offering discounted loan rates for qualifying developments that promote sustainable housing delivery.
- In 2023, HBFI, in response to a recommendation in the Minister for Finance’s review of the organisation, launched a new product, Accelerate, for larger developers who may be constrained in raising additional finance, and has already concluded its first transaction using this product.
- HBFI has continued to engage extensively with the market during H1 2025, running 4 regional events for builders in counties Cork, Cavan, Meath and Offaly. Further events are planned for Autumn 2025.
About HBFI
- Established under the Home Building Finance Ireland Act 2018.
- Commenced operations on 28th January 2019.
- Initial funding capacity of €730m made available by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is recycled as early loans are repaid, freeing up capacity for new lending
- A private company with its own Board operating on a commercial basis, wholly owned by the Minister for Finance.
- HBFI is subject to State Aid rules and audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General.
- In July 2025, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, published the third review of HBFI, as required under Section 24 of the HBFI Act, which found that its continuation remains necessary given prevailing market conditions. This review is now available on the Department of Finance website.
Counties in which HBFI is funding new homes
Carlow |
Donegal |
Kildare |
Longford |
Monaghan |
Tipperary |
Wicklow |
Clare |
Dublin |
Kilkenny |
Louth |
Offaly |
Waterford |
|
Cavan |
Galway |
Laois |
Mayo |
Roscommon |
Westmeath |
|
Cork |
Kerry |
Limerick |
Meath |
Sligo |
Wexford |
Composition of HBFI-funded homes
| Total | Owner-occupiers | Private Rental | Social Housing /Affordable | Part V | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houses | 9,865 | 7,051 | 50 | 2,363 | 401 |
| Apartments | 5,321 | 312 | 1,110 | 3,597 | 302 |
| Total | 15,186 | 7,363 | 1,160 | 5,960 | 703 |
| 48% | 8% | 39% | 5% | ||
| % Houses | 65% | ||||
| % Aparts | 65% |
HBFI Mid Year Update 2025