Irish Property Market chat II - *read mod note post #1 before posting*

They seem to be going well over asking for sure. We just started a few weeks ago looking at apartments. We got to the point of having to look too far out for houses in our price range, decided an apartment closer in (Co. Dublin would be a better option). We werent really in a rush but you can see every month the price is going up by as much as we are saving, so better off just getting on the property ladder at this point before the we are well and truly priced out of everything.

I was looking at apartments too as I'm single. A house in Dublin was, whilst not entirely beyond me, was at the very limit of my budget. I went sale agreed on an apartment, but pulled out after my solicitor found that the management company had major financial issues. I eventually bought a 3-bedroom house in a town in Wexford. Better to have something rather than to hope for a future that may never come.

I think you're right to buy something now whilst you have the chance. Saving is only good in the short term as fiat money just loses too much value. Once you're on the "property ladder", you can at least have a shot of trading up in a few years.

My mode of operation was to pay the €5 to get a copy of a MgCo's filed accounts before even bothering to enter bids. A major problem with shortage markets such as Dublin is the crazy amount of due-diligence required.

The problem now however is finding somewhere that fits that bill that is affordable.

Time in the market is great if you can get into the market. All I can see at present locally is defective brick houses, 70s bungalows that haven't had work done to them since they were built and terraces in the wrong part of town.

Agree. I used to laugh at people who said rent was dead money. But now my opinion is that it is rent money definite dead money. OK you get a service for it which is fair enough, but it doesnt further your own life situation unless you are happy to rent forever. And who is going to want to be renting when they are too old to work. Going on a council list at that age, you'll be dead before you get anything.

Renting is dead money if you are in a position to buy, and it makes financial sense.

If you are renting because you are waiting for prices to come down before eventually buying its dead money.

If you were renting because you thought it was cheaper than buying, its dead money.

If you are renting because you have no intention of staying in the area in the future its not dead money. But if you are planning on buying somewhere else where prices are also going to go up in the future - dead money :)

If you are renting in Ireland dont expect the rental market to ever be functional again in your lifetime. We are way past the point of no return. I could be wrong, but i dont feel like testing it out while renting.

Nightmare scenario would be to be renting when we retire.

Your post reminds me of the fact that investors loose more money from missed opportunities investing because they are expecting a crash than they actually would have if they had invested and the market crashed….. I guess it comes down to people thinking they’re clever than everyone else.. Same people daydream about how much money they would have made if they invested in Apple 20/30 years ago.

if you are lucky enough to be in a position to buy and continue to rent then I would agree it’s dead money. However there are lots of reasons people rent that aren’t just about money.

Honestly theres so many edge cases the idea of a linear list of dead money vs non dead money is a bit restrictive. It seems like you are trying to turn what is quite a complex and grey topic into a black and white one which I don't believe it can ever be.

Yes I envisage the same, a lot of people approaching retirement not owning their homes. I hope government will think how will they will deal with these people in future.

There's many who don't chose the situation they are in. The only houses near me are defective block, scummy neighbourhoods or not able to buy due to cute hoorism surrounding planning.

There's an element of finger pointing in many posts that implies many people chose to rent right now, again trying to black and white an often complex issue and ignore the real issues underlying this situation.

Exactly the same positon here I can afford to and would love to settle down but I can just not because what is being offered is not suitable for me to live in (if suitable to live in at all). Throughout the last year of bidding, going sale agreed and getting the rug pulled away on two (and soon to be three) occasions the worst part is not that there are no houses its the attitudes of people that I know and online. In many cases people seem to talk at you and not to you.

Current place I'm sale agreed on waited nearly 3 months for the contracts and turns some of the planning stipulations havnt been followed (the expensive ones). Called the estate agent to get an idea of what the story is with it and was told I could do them at my own expense. He was politely reminded that if the bank won't lend on it then it's unlikely anyone else will be able to buy either.

Honestly that is probably the reality of the situation. However for some reason it's acceptable in accomodation but when that same don't care I got paid attitude is exhibited in other places people go wild. The same attitude of don't care I still get paid for example in the HSE or things like public transport drives people on here to complain.

That might be the way of it but the same people spending 12 hours in ED shouldn't then be entitled to complain when the shoe is on the other foot.

Again, just to provide for the usual lack of context, the director mentioned was last a councillor on 2009.