€132 billion.
That’s how much Ireland Inc. owes in mortgages.
€32 Billion.
That’s how much Ireland Inc. has ‘invested’ in buy-to-rent properties, around €23 billion of that taken out in the past five years.
Thing is, this figure contains mortgages that were taken out on vastly-overpriced properties, and as such, any move to re-capitalize the banks must go with […]
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This is another taping I made of the Vincent Browne Show - side B of the programme below. Again, it’s another fascinating discussion involving Browne and an informed panel of Dr. Kevin Whelan, Prof. Tom Bartlett, and Prof. Tom Dunne, with the topic this time the 1798 rebellion.
To download, right-click “audio MP3″ and save […]
Vincent Browne Show, 1798 Rebellion:
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The Fianna Fáil plan to fix the systematic problems within the Irish banking system is… to mortgage the entire country in order to keep the system running the same way as before.
The contradiction inherent to that decision - to fix a broken system by ensuring it runs the same way as before - is […]
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In 1972 Rosita Sweetman wrote the following in her book, On Our Knees: Ireland 1972:
You may wonder why the Fianna Fail government doesn’t do something about controlling the price of land, the building of houses and general accommodation problems in a city bursting at the seams…If you are still sceptical, you might take a trip […]
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€15.685 billion.
That’s how much Irish people have spent in the past two and a half years in buying houses and apartments so they can rent them out to others. It adds up to 60,277 units, with an average mortgage of €260,215 for each one. First-time-buyers spent €19.168 billion on mortgages over the same period, on […]
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The Irish Independent has one of its usual pieces about rents in Dublin rising by 10%, so I’m going to have one of my usual pieces giving evidence to show the contrary.
Talking about rising rents probably has more to do with trying to convince investors back into the market than anything else.
There’s a […]
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The Irish Times portrays a schizophrenic relationship with Irish housing today (Friday), with one article assuring us that it is better to buy in Dublin than rent - and another one warning us about the ongoing property price crash.
Writing in the Finance section, Laura Slattery says that
AFFORDABILITY FOR first-time buyers continues to improve […]
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Zapatero has to overcome rising unemployment, inflation at double the EU average, and a crisis in the construction industry, which has been hit by the global credit squeeze. Having seen the economy grow at a rate of 4% in recent years, analysts say it could drop to 2.5% this year.” (”Spanish socialists pledge new era […]
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Global financial markets remain fragile while business and consumer confidence is slipping. Encouragingly, the ECB recently removed its threat to raise rates further and hinted that rates may fall.
I think the ECB will reduce interest rates two or three times in the coming year. This will boost sentiment towards the Irish housing market.” (”Maturing market […]
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The bankers reassure us that “new lending continues to moderate in a mortgage market that is still growing in overall terms.”
Translated, this means that people, mostly young people seeking their first home, are flocking to buy houses at prices they regard as realistic. (Irish Independent editorial, 14 February, 2008)
So. The spinning continues.
The above quote […]
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