Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), the government-established agency for funding new home construction, has announced there was significant growth in loan approvals in 2024.
Total approvals reached €2.7bn by the end of December 2024, a substantial 61% increase from the €1.66bn at the end of 2023. HBFI’s 2024 performance update highlights strong demand for its funding and significant momentum in construction starts throughout the year. New loan approvals in 2024 more than doubled to €1.01bn, compared to €408m in 2023.
The pipeline of potential new developments for HBFI looks promising as it enters 2025. By the end of December 2024, HBFI had approved funding for 13,186 new homes across 184 developments spanning 23 counties. Of these, 4,618 units have been sold, with an additional 3,408 contracted for sale or sale agreed.
From the total €2.7bn approved, €1.9bn (72%) has been drawn down for 117 developments, supporting 10,375 homes currently under construction or completed. HBFI typically anticipates a three-to-six-month gap between loan approval and the first drawdown. Individual loan facilities range from €1m to €113m, averaging €14.5m, with an average term of 23 months.
HBFI Chief Executive Dara Deering commented that the organisation continues to make a valuable contribution to accelerating Ireland’s housing supply, having funded over 13,000 new homes to date across 23 counties for owner-occupiers, renters, and those requiring social or affordable housing.
Dara Deering commented: “By offering an expanded range of products, we saw a significant increase in our new loan approvals to over €1bn over the course of the year when commencement activity across the market was also really strong.
“We’re recycling capital to leverage the impact of the capital at our disposal to lend to small, medium and large housebuilding companies to improve supply as much as we can.
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, said: “I welcome the publication of HBFI’s end-of-year results for 2024, which shows that HBFI has approved funding of €2.7bn since its establishment, supporting the delivery of over 13,000 homes.
“HBFI was established to increase the supply of finance for commercially viable developments by responding to gaps in the funding market and supporting the construction of new homes across the country.”