House prices continue to rise while developers’ profits soar
The latest Residential Property Price Index from the CSO will provide no comfort to those hoping to buy a home of their own, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.
Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“The figures show that house prices continue to rise while developers’ profits soar. The cost of buying a home in March has increased by 3.9 per cent since the same time last year.
“With the median price of a home in Dublin now standing at a staggering €435,000, any hope of home ownership is becoming a pipedream for many.
“The Government’s only solution to soaring house prices seems to be putting ever-increasing amounts of public money into the pockets of private developers.
“The latest €1 billion hare-brained measures promised hundreds of millions of euros to help developers bridge the ‘viability gap’ that apparently exists when building homes.
“Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes, two of the country’s biggest property developers, made operating profits of €70m (up 38 per cent) and €103m (up 76 per cent) respectively in 2022.
“However, there are solutions to housing affordability. Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance have proven that homes can be built and sold on a not-for-profit basis for far below the market rate.
“The Government should be investing in organisations like Ó Cualann, who build genuinely affordable homes, rather than boosting the already substantial profit margins of the country’s largest developers.”
May 17, 2023