266,322 Vacant Properties in the Republic of Ireland
There is enough vacant properites in the Republic of Ireland to house a million people according to the Sunday Independent.
Housing Minister Batt O’Keeffe stated two weeks ago that much of the present problems in the housing market had been caused by rogue builders who are “sitting” on finished properties as they wait for an up-turn in the market.
According to Fine Gael’s local politician Brain Hayes figures, it indicates the problem is far more embedded, with a vast stockpile of family homes empty. This then blasts the myth that it is holiday homes that make up the billions of euro worth of vacant property.
Figures revealed this week that there are more than 266,322 properties empty with only 49,995 of these holiday homes. This then leaves a count of 216,327 as being unoccupied family homes!
In Dublin city alone there are 27,122 houses and 13,124 apartments that are standing empty with Cork city following close behind with houses, apartments and holiday homes of which 30,989 are vacant.
The figures are also surprisingly high in Galway where almost 12,000 houses were unoccupied while even commuter counties such as Kildare (5,363 houses) Meath 5,414) and Louth (4,692) are suffering.
Deputy Hayes spoke the the Sunday mentioned to the Sunday Independent that the figures suggested that when it comes the housing market there now appears to be "serious issues of over-supply".
The Government had hoped that a gradual deceleration of the housing market would see the 2006 high of more than 90,000 completions being reduced to a more realistic level of around 65,000.
However, Deputy Hayes noted that "seeing as the present figures suggest that there is four years of unused capacity it is difficult to see how even this modest target can be met".
House Prices still Falling
Home prices meanwhile are still falling after the European Central Bank has raised interest-rates eight times since late 2005 which has resulted in borrowing costs doubling.
"The construction slowdown is overshadowing the fact that the rest of the economy is doing fine,'' says Alan Barrett, an economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute ( ESRI). “The pessimism is overdone," he says.
Since the start of the year the price of an average family home has fallen by six per cent, taking €18,000 off the value.
The fall in property prices continued in November with a 1.1 per cent decline in the value of houses across the country following the 1.3 per cent drop the previous month -- the biggest fall in 11 years.
The average price paid in November was €292,124, compared with €310,409 in the same month last year.
Prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in Dublin last month, while throughout the first 11 months of 2007, Dublin prices fell by 5.6 per cent.
Despite the slow down in and drop in house prices, newly built homes are slow in bringing prices down and the construction industry has been slammed for not biting the bullet and dropping new-home prices.
Incentives such as high-grade electrical applicances and fitting kitchens are being offered to new home buyers instead of a price reduction.
