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

Ultimately, only opening up works in all apartment blocks across the country could provide more reliable information than that report.

Re the time period involved, I don’t have any exact numbers, but it’s fair to say a very large proportion of our overall apartment stock was built during that period - certainly enough that if at least 50% per cent of them have structural issues, makes my initial post asserting that a large proportion of our current stock have fire safety issues or leaks, a valid assertion. The report doesn’t go into noise issues, which I also mentioned, as those issues aren’t seen as critical.

I owned an apartment built during the period, built by a developer with a good reputation, and indeed in a desirable overall development relative to the area it was built in. While if you asked the managing agent or OMC or the majority of owners (most of whom never lived there) if there were issues, you would be told absolutely not, due to a leak I had reason have some very minor opening up works done in my own unit. There was no fire stopping material between mine and the adjoining upstairs unit.

There is a huge, huge element of managing agents/OMCs and indeed owners burying their heads in the sand about these issues, and the “nothing to see here” attitude maintains the prices of these developments so that current owners pass the problems onto future owners and round and round it goes.

I would argue that that report, rather than apartment owners/managing agents/omcs being asked “how much money would you like” was rather a chance for them to anonymously tell the truth about the situations within their developments, without it impacting on the value of their units.

Irish people don't have a unique inability/cultural aversion to living in apartment complexes, though. The reason our apartment % is so low compared to the rest of Europe is simply because we don't build enough apartments, not because 92% of Irish people would refuse to live in them if they existed.

Again, as the go to example just look at the huge numbers of students, 20something, and 30something professionals living in suburban house shares in any city in Ireland. These people would all far rather be in centrally located apartments, but can't, because apartments don't exist in large enough numbers.

In a Dublin context any development between the canals over the past 30 years, and for at least the next 30, should be apartments with a mandatory minimum height of 6 stories to help address this.

For so many reasons (the quality of life for the renters, the families that would be able to move into suburban houses, the lower infrastructure pressure with lots of people having walkable commutes, the more vibrant city center etc etc) the inner city should be medium to high density apartment living. But our governments have made no attempt to encourage this historically, and even in 2024 this isn't showing much sign of change, either. Somewhat horrifyingly.

The report supports my claim. It doesn’t prove it, but it does support it.

This has been pointed out on this forum many times but there was deniers tgatbitvwas happening. This is just proof to something we knew was happening

Most buyers are not buying new builds, and so get no incentives whatsoever to buy.

A short article on the market today in the IT, it paints a different picture from the government press releases:

"House prices and rents will remain on an upward curve for the foreseeable future, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) will tell the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight on Wednesday evening.

In its opening statement the institute notes that investment in residential construction here slowed noticeably in 2022. “Ireland was among the countries with the lowest investment in housing in the EU in 2022, only exceeding Greece, Poland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” it says. “As a result the rise in house prices and rents is likely to continue, albeit at a slower pace in the case of house prices.”

The institute warns that demand for housing would continue to exceed the supply over the medium-term."

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2024/03/06/house-prices-and-rents-to-remain-on-upward-curve-says-esri/

Have they said they're going to change the rent a room scheme?

There are some pretty glaring problems with the rent a room scheme that need fixing though.

How is it right that someone can get a social house from state, worth hundreds of thousands of euros, for almost free rent - and then turn around and rent out a room in that house to someone at market prices, tax free, and without impacting their welfare?

You have the very real scenario now of young professionals paying up to 1000e a month in rent, for a room, to someone who got a house for free and who pays nothing in taxes.

Thats not good for society, or morally right.

This couple will agonise over whether to have children, considering whether to add creche fees on to a heavy mortgage while likely commuting a long distance. Near the office they'll probably pass free or heavily subsidised housing given to people who earn as much as they do. As Blut2 says, simply not morally right.

The people who made it legal for social welfare tenants to rent out rooms in their social housing tax free weren't the tenants. It was our current FG/FF/Green government - they're the only people to blame here.

Not sure if it is policy but they have made noises in that direction.

Help to buy increased to 100k

"Its a rather serious lack of urgency when it comes to fixing the problem"

that phrase could characterise nearly every government action over the past 20 years.

Jeez, I had a look at the website. They're nice houses alright, but 3/4 of a mil for a standard semi-d is crazy.

Are they even in Leopardstown? Maybe it just sounds nicer than Kilgobbin or Stepaside (looking at google maps)

And I’d say a high percentage of them were snapped by Chinese investors. They’ve been buying up clay farm for a few years now.