Media Coverage
- Must Build Upwards - June 8th
- Hikes over 10% - June 7th
- Housing Crisis - April 27th
- Movers Have Power - May 23rd
- Prices through the roof - May 23th
- Fears of Chaos - May 23rd
- Beware of Meddling - May 23rd
- Canadian Lender - May 21st
- Rate Rise - May 20th
- Against Rate Cap - May 20th
- 50,000 new homes - April 27th
- Demand for Property - April 11th
- Banks on Switching - April 11th
- New Debt Trap - March 26th
- Wrongly Denied Tracker - March 24th
- Credit Union Bid - March 24th
- First increase in lending - March 13th
- Outstrips €50m provision - March 13th
Paul Melia: Prices are going through the roof because we simply aren't building enough homes to meet demand
Houses have not become more expensive to buy because of the Help to Buy scheme. The main reason is the lack of supply.
We are producing nothing like the number of homes needed to meet demand, with official figures noting that just under 15,000 were completed last year, when at least 30,000 were needed.
Money is at the heart of the problem. Builders cannot borrow at competitive rates, and it's cheaper to buy second-hand than build in large parts of the country. While Leo Varadkar is clearly fighting for the Fine Gael leadership, his comments about Help to Buy appear designed to undermine his rival, Housing Minister Simon Coveney, rather than present a solution to the problem.
Irish Independent View Full Article
