Softening house market?

You could have written this post every year for the past 6 years.

It's clear as day that government policy is to keep house prices where they are. Not once have they ever said that house prices are too high. Its all about "affordability"... careful choice of words.

They'd rather throw ever increasing grants at first time buyers rather than see property prices moderate. A (failing) attempt at keeping as many people happy as they can I suppose.

External factors might pull down Irish property prices, but we can be sure this government will push hard the opposite direction if that happens.

You couldn't make it up - rising interest rates threatened to calm the market, so they relax lending rules.

It has to turn at some point though - whats going on isn't sustainable... and unfortunately the longer this goes on the bigger the fallout when it inevitably ends in tears.

This is a good question, and it’s one that doesn’t arise as often as it should.

I’m not aware of statistics, but I would wager that there are thousands upon thousands of adults in their late 20s, 30s or even 40s who are essentially stuck in life despite being in employment. I personally know people in their 40s who are house-sharing or living with their parents. In that situation, one cannot settle down, marry or have children, even if they wanted to.

What is the toll of this?  Obviously, this is creating a mental health disaster, but there is also the demographic element.  The people whom I mention above are not “young” people. Rather, they are adults who only a few years ago would have been having children and raising the next generation.  Thus it may be assumed that native birth rates are falling, hence the state’s gusto for immigration. 

I too have wondered what the long-term fate of this lost generation will be, and let us not pretend that this is not what we have. Certainly, many of the younger generation will manage to own their own home, but an enormous proportion will not. If I’m honest, I think that their plight will simply be added the already immense human cost of the globalist/neo-liberal economic model.

Duplicate.

Actually there were some views expressed on the thread a few weeks or months ago that the Irish banks wouldn't raise rates in response to rises in the wholesale market because they didn't need to as they had so much deposits sitting there. It obviously didn't make sense, but it was claimed.

I remember because I tried arguing with them over it at the time

There is a fundamental difference between having a short term obligation in the form of your current rent and having a long term obligation sitting over your head. It can become even more pronounced at different stages of life

It was. What you mean is that you didn't remember it being said, or that you don't read the posts where it being said.

To be clear, I am not saying it was a widely held view on the thread, only that it was said. I am likely not the only other person who remembers it. It was along the lines of "the Irish banks don't need to raise their rates because they have so much deposits"

You are not the only one who remembers this.

I see little let up in prices here in Galway. Only started looking a few months ago so perhaps this is the norm but any house I have bid on has gone a decent bit above asking in bids, always from a low base. Perhaps this is normal, I don't know. Disheartening all the same.

I can see why though, really there are at most one good house a week put up on Daft. More like one every two weeks if even.