Sir, - The new housing measures announced by the Government are supposed to strengthen the position of first-time buyers. Unfortunately, basic economics suggests that most potential first-time buyers will be only a little better off.
Cutting stamp duty on secondhand houses will increase the demand for them, while the announced supply-side measures are likely to have little effect on the supply or stock of these houses. Rising demand with relatively fixed supply generally leads to higher, not lower, prices. - Yours, etc.,
Anthony Murphy, Department of Economics, UCD, Dublin 4.