State needs to build 50,000 homes a year to solve housing crisis - property sector survey

The real estate sector believes the State needs to build 50,000 new homes a year to solve the housing crisis, according to a new survey. The majority of industry professionals also believe the introduction of a residential zoned land tax will “disincentivise” land hoarding, seen by many as an impediment to development.

The survey of more than 200 agents, developers and property managers by law firm Mason Hayes and Curran found that three quarters (76 per cent) believed the house-building target set out in the Government’s Housing for All strategy, which equates to 33,000 units a year over the next 10 years, was too low and that a build rate of 50,000 was needed to resolve the mismatch between demand and supply.

While house building has slowed in the face of increased input price inflation, 28,000 new homes are expected to be built in the State this year.

The estimated level of demand in the market is put at 35,000, although some maintain it is higher.

Say it quietly, but are we facing Taylor Swift fatigue?

---

Brazilian Deliveroo rider who intervened in Parnell Square attack: ‘I had time to think about what my purpose in life is’

---

The least famous best player the NBA has ever had: ‘I really wish nobody knows me’

---

‘I’m alone pretty much all the time. The older I become, the less hopeful I am this will change’

---

A report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) last week suggested an increase in annual housing supply from a 25,000 baseline to 35,000, which is an annual target considered the minimum necessary to meet medium-term demand, would cause house prices to fall by 12 per cent within eight years.

The survey by the law firm also found that a majority (56 per cent) believed the introduction of residential zoned land tax would disincentivise the hoarding of residential development land.

Chinese interest in the ‘golden visa’ scheme surges

Listen | 30:10

Irish Times Current Affairs Editor Arthur Beesley joins Ciarán Hancock to discuss the recent spike in applications by wealthy Chinese citizens to the Immigrant Investor Programme. The scheme allows applicants, with a minimum net worth of €2 million, to obtain residency in the State, if they invest in the Irish economy. With the number of applications almost tripling in the first nine months of the year, speculation is mounting that the scheme could be closed off. Later on, we hear from Economics Correspondent Cliff Taylor who discusses how rising interest rates, coupled with a slowdown in construction are impacting the housing market.

“Residential zoned land tax was introduced by the Finance Act 2021 with a view to replacing the vacant site levy, and has the same aim – to encourage the early development of sites suitable for housing,” said Áine Quigley of Mason Hayes and Curran.

“Owners or others with development rights of relevant sites must either take steps to develop the land, or pay a tax of 3 per cent of the market value of the land,” she said.

[ How EU made a fundamental error when determining Irish house prices are not overvalued ]

“Local authorities published draft maps identifying the relevant sites on November 1st, and we expect a lot more discussion on this topic before the tax becomes payable in 2024,” Ms Quigley said.

Three quarters of respondents (75 per cent) also believed that a developer’s planning contribution towards “public infrastructure and facilities” should be set according to the estimated cost of the infrastructure, as opposed to any uplift in land value from being zoned residential.

The survey was conducted at a recent property webinar hosted by the company.