The political decisions the Government is going to make in its imminent new housing plan will impact property valuations, residential and commercial, for years to come, auctioneers and valuers have said.
Irish house prices rose at an annualised rate of 7.4 per cent in August, unchanged from the previous month, while the average price paid for a home was €423,000, the latest official figures show.
Price growth is being fuelled by a combination of supply shortages, aggravated by a slowdown in new home completions, and State incentives to buy.
The Central Statistics Office’s Residential Property Price Index for August indicated prices in Dublin increased at an annual rate of 5.3 per cent while prices outside the capital were up by 9.2 per cent year-on-year.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s conference on European valuation to be held at the RDS, Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) chief executive Genevieve McGuirk said the new plan must be strong enough to stimulate supply.
“This can only be achieved by encouraging investment, speeding up planning and infrastructure, and co-ordinating the disparate and disjointed elements of housing policy,” she said.
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“We cannot afford to see price increases for homes continue at the level they’ve been at in recent years.”
The number of people homeless has reached another record high, surpassing 16,500 for the first time, including more than 5,200 children – another landmark high – latest figures show.
Building up Ireland’s construction force is considered key to tackling the problem. There are about 170,000 workers in the construction industry, down from 237,000 at the height of the Celtic Tiger period.
The Government has set a target of building 303,000 homes between 2025 and 2030, when its term in office is due to end. The revised targets would mean delivering an average of 50,500 homes a year.
Ms McGuirk, a former head of education at IPAV, said property valuations are a “critical element” of a properly functioning economy, with “much to be learned from the financial crash in advance of which property valuations were not taken seriously enough by lenders”.
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“In this regard we’re delighted to have Minister for Housing James Lawless address Tuesday’s conference,” she said.
Housing completions last year were about 32,700, while the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is forecasting 35,000 completions this year and 36,000 in 2026.
Sinn Féin spokesman on housing Eoin Ó Broin has said that the Government’s new housing plan, due to be launched in November, must prioritise ending homelessness by 2030.
“The Minister for Housing James Browne is due to publish his new housing plan in the coming weeks,” he said. “This new plan must prioritise ending long term homelessness by 2030.
“To achieve this the plan must include a dramatic increase in funding for and targets for social and affordable housing. It must also set out clear targets for meeting the 2030 date as recommended by the homeless policy group.”