Finally we may be about to see some relaxation of the anti-investor measures introduced by the Government three years ago after the first Bacon Report. The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has put it on record that they are "examining ways of bringing down rents". At last weekend's Ard Fheis he was able to report that the supply of new housing last year had reached a record level of 50,000 new homes.
However, things have slipped quite a lot in the current year and the canny builders are in no great hurry to complete estates until a few outstanding issues have been resolved. At this stage it is quite clear that there is only one way of restoring confidence to the troubled housing sector, and boost the supply of rental property. The reintroduction of mortgage interest relief would have an immediate impact, without making life difficult for first-time buyers. The reality is that there are any number of starter homes now available at prices which are dropping by the month.
In Drogheda this weekend, for example, two-bedroom apartments are being offered at a competitive price of £89,950 (E;114,213). A year ago these would have made at least £20,000 (E;25,395) more. The developers Menolly - the largest in the country - can afford to offer discounts with thousands of sales under their belt over the last six years. However, some developers are clearly finding it difficult to get funding to keep their sites going as sales slow down. The day of the queues outside showhouses is now only a memory, and it is a good weekend if they clock up half a dozen sales. From now on it is all about value for money and developers bumping up prices clearly run the risk of being left with units on their hands over the dreary winter months.
The exception to all that seems to be inner-city apartments with tax breaks. There have been very few of these schemes around since the Bacon measures, but just to show that the market could be resurrected, Dunloe Ewart sold the final units last weekend at their Collins Square scheme near the Phoenix Park. The apartments carried much-sought-after owner-occupier tax breaks and there was no shortage of first-time buyers looking for them. There is still a whole raft of sites in the city which could be developed, but this won't happen until the Government changes the ground rules.
