“Unprecedented measures” are needed in the upcoming budget to arrest the housing crisis and make home ownership more affordable for younger age cohorts in particular, according to a property industry group.
“We’re still seeing private landlords fleeing the market and those on average incomes largely excluded from buying homes because of the very restrictive mortgage rules of recent years and now rising interest rates,” said Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (Ipav) chief executive Pat Davitt.
His call comes as Ipav’s latest Residential Property Price Barometer shows prices in areas of Dublin and in the apartment sector are falling.
The report, which captures the actual selling prices for three- and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments across the State, found an overall increase of 2.05 per cent in prices achieved in the first six months of 2023.
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Increases in different counties were generally in the range of 4 to 6 per cent, with price drops of about 2 per cent in some Dublin districts and in the apartment category.
Mr Davitt said there was a “strong rationale” for treating mortgage provision as separate to other forms of lending, and urged the Government to consider options, beyond pillar banks, for making low interest rate mortgages widely available.
The Ipav chief noted that while credit unions are entering the mortgage market, the extents of their involvement or their capacity remain unclear.
“Were it not for the Help-to-Buy and First Home schemes, the current situation would be much worse. What we need is not State schemes to counter the problems created elsewhere in the housing system but a direct, long-term system of lending that gives more certainty over the lifetime of a mortgage,” he said.
“As bank profits soar for the first six months of this year one cannot help but feel it’s a lopsided equation whereby the interest of lenders supersedes those of consumers, despite the Central Bank having a dual role under legislation to protect both,” he added.
The institute noted that the overall 2.05 per cent increase in selling prices could indicate a stabilisation of house prices, as it is down from a 2.44 per cent increase recorded in the previous six months.
