Saturday, September 03, 2016

The Irish Land Problem

In 2014, it was estimated 90,193 homes were needed between then and 2018, but up to the end of June this year, only 14,887 of those had been delivered.

Builders are choosing to build homes only for those who can afford them - and pay in cash - a major new report claims. It is creating a two-tier market, shutting out those who have to apply for mortgages - and have to jump through hoops to get one.

The report says: "It is clear that the market, such as it is, is getting greater traction in those areas commanding higher house prices." These areas are mainly in north and south Dublin and western suburbs within the M50. To make matters worse, large tracts of development land are not being released for housing.


Councillor Daithí Doolan, Chairman of Dublin City Council's housing committee said: "Dublin is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis and this report confirms what many already knew; developers are keeping large tracts of land from the market. This serves to keep home prices at a premium for developers… There is enough land zoned for 53,000 homes in Dublin city. That land could be bought and developed by Dublin City Council.

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