Home completions are expected to rise by 11 per cent to 40,000 this year but getting started on new builds has been slowed by the war in the Middle East, according to Goodbody Stockbrokers.The broker sees housing completions climbing from 36,000 last year, according to a report published on Thursday.However, the report notes that housing starts are “weaker” following the Iran war, and says planning permissions “need to pick up to sustain momentum”. It also points to issues surrounding “land availability, planning and viability”.Data published by the Central Statistics Office on Wednesday showed a fall of 1 per cent in the total number of homes approved for planning permission in the first quarter compared with last year, down to 8,092 units.Houses accounted for 61 per cent of those, while apartments made up the rest. The number of apartments granted planning permission fell by 2.7 per cent, while the total number of house approvals remained static.There was an annual fall of 34 per cent in the total number of homes approved in Dublin to 1,452 units. Of these, the number of apartments approved was down 31.6 per cent to 1,064, while the number of houses approved decreased by 39.7 per cent to 388.There was also an annual decline of 43.8 per cent in the total number of strategic housing developments dwelling units approved, of which the number of apartments approved fell by 40.2 per cent, compared with a fall of 48.3 per cent in the number of houses approved.Goodbody chief economist Dermot O’Leary said that while there is a “significant stock” of units with planning permission yet to be commenced, the pipeline of new permissions is “flatlining”.“In Dublin, our analysis of more granular data shows that apartments are crucial to growth in new supply,” he said. “To sustain momentum in new supply, we will need to see a pickup in both activation of apartments and in planning permissions more generally. Increased land availability and speedier utility connections are key to unlocking this.”O’Leary said there have been slower housing starts since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.“We are watching trends in new supply closely in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Iran war and the spike in energy prices,” he said. “Our analysis of commencements suggests some slowing over the past three months after a relatively strong start to the year.”O’Leary said Government support “remains key” to new housing supply in Ireland. “We estimate that various government schemes contributed to 35 per cent of new housing supply in 2025,” he said.“While this was down slightly on the 2024 share, it highlights the key role the Government is playing. Given that housing remains the number one policy priority for the Government, we believe that this support will continue over the coming years.”Goodbody’s report said house price growth is currently in a “steady range” at about 7 per cent, with new home price inflation at 6 per cent and “close to aggregate disposable income growth”.It said mortgage approvals have been steady at the start of the year, with the market forecast at €15.6 billion for 2026. The report also noted the “easing of rent controls, changing standards and lower VAT”, which it said has been “helpful at the margin” for new rental supply.