State-backed lender Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) increased its total loan approvals by 25 per cent to more than €3.3 billion by the end of December, new figures show.
The body has now approved funding for 16,588 new homes in 233 developments across 25 counties. The majority of the projects are houses, with apartments accounting for 33 per cent.
Drawdowns of €2.45 billion have taken place, covering 152 developments, with an average size of €14.3 million.
More than 6,800 housing units funded by the lender have been sold, with almost 4,100 contracted for sale or sale agreed by the end of last year.
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Lending capacity rose by 27 per cent in the second half of 2025, supported by a new €200 million lending facility from Danske Bank as HBFI raised market funding for the first time.
“Our performance in 2025 shows our heavy focus on supporting small and medium home builders and our strong appetite to help home builders that are equity constrained,” said HBFI chief executive Dara Deering. ““Our pipeline is strong and we have ambitious plans to drive additional supply in the market in 2026 and beyond.”
HBFI was set up to address gaps in the market faced by homebuilding companies, with strong demand seen for its products from small and medium-sized companies. The lender said 82 per cent of its approvals to date were for amounts of €20 million or less, with 87 per cent covering almost two-thirds of a project’s cost.
“It is positive to see a strong demand for HBFI products from SME home builders,” Tánaiste Simon Harris said. “A further new funding facility of €200 million will strengthen HBFI’s capacity to continue to provide funding where it is most needed. We need to help the SME sector to scale up activity to get to the level of house building our country needs.”
