300,000 homes are currently unoccupied: Why are we still building?
“Ireland is awash with buildings that few people either can afford or want to purchase,” states a new report published by The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (Nirsa).
Based at NUI Maynooth, Prof Rob Kitchin the Director of the State-funded academic institution said that a post-mortem is needed into the Government’s failure to control the property bubble… “An independent inquiry is needed to investigate all aspects of the planning system and its operation within and across different agencies and at all scales in Ireland including charges of localism, cronyism and clientelism,”… “It would be foolhardy to carry out a banking inquiry without also looking into planning mistakes” he said.
Findings of the report include:
Yesterday a man in Arklow, Co. Wicklow barricaded himself and his sister into their family home using machinery from his plant-hire business in order to stop the house from being repossessed. The man said his actions were an attempt to reopen negotiations with an unspecified lender that had attempted to serve a repossession order.
It’s that time of year again when horse enthusiasts flock in their thousands to Ballybrit racecourse for an auld flutter on the horses. The Galway Races is one, if not ‘the’ top race meetings of the year and attracts some 200,000 race-goers! If you haven’t planned ahead or if you have taken a spontaneous last minute decision to up sticks and head for Galway for the week, accommodation will no doubt be sparse if not, non-existent.
Following the first round of increases earlier this year, EBS announced a further increase of 0.6% on its Standard Variable Rate mortgage this month which was followed on Friday by Irish Life & Permanent with a 0.5% increase on their Standard Variable Rate; it is only a matter of time before all banks follow suit.
Dublin City Council is the first in the country to launch a rent-to-buy scheme in of 91 apartments in Rialto, Glasnevin and Finglas; if the pilot scheme proves successful it could be rolled out by all local authorities across the country next year.
Can we blog any more on property tax… yes we can! The subject of whether or not to introduce a property tax seems to be an on going and endless topic of conversation. Appearing in the paper again today ahead of this Wednesdays budgetary talks it now seems that a Property Tax is not on the agenda for the next budget – hip hip hooray!
This week’s three properties for X amount are all located in the panoramic and tranquil county of Mayo. All properties are 4 bed detached, come in under the €170k mark and are all described as excellent first time buyer or investment properties.