Irish Property News Update

Property repossessions on the rise

The head of KBC bank expects property repossessions to increase and 2015 and 2016 as reported in the Irish Independent here.  He puts it down to the fact that the Central Bank have set targets for Banks to deal with their problem loans.

Growth in rents slows in 4th quarter

Ronan Lyons over at Daft.ie comments on their latest report.

The national average rent between October and December was just under €950, thats 9.7% higher than last year. However, this is down from a 10.8% annual increase in the second and third quarters and marks the first time since mid-2009 that rental inflation has eased.

The first time in over 5 years! This may signal the peak rent that the market can bear may be approaching soon. Note that the lowest year on year rise was in Co. Monaghan were rents were up only 0.4%. The full report can be downloaded in pdf format here.

Development of zoned and serviced land

The Department of Finance have opened up a consultation process on what can be done to encourage the development of zoned and serviced land. In particular, how the taxation system can be used to do so. More tax breaks on the way? Michael Noonan argues no.

I am determined the mistakes of the past will not be repeated, when property-based tax reliefs were allowed to continue for too long with no clear rationale behind their maintenance. Lessons such as these must be applied in designing the Irish tax code for the future. In that regard, I want to emphasize that this consultation is not being launched with a view to introducing new property-based tax reliefs or tax breaks.

If you want to have your say have a look at the paper here  and send your suggestions to zoned&servicedland@finance.gov.ie

Other Property News

Well heres one way of squeezing an extra bit of yield from your portfolio.  Do you think letting out your driveway as a parking spot might catch on. Then you can invest in JustPark, who say they have signed up 150,000 parking spot owners in the UK. Currently crowdfunding over on CrowdCube. See here.

Larry Goodman Jnr to go house building. See here.  140 units planned for Dundalk. Drogheda expected next.

Irish Property News Update

Crowdfunding Property. The Irish Times

Fiona Reddan in the Irish Times writes about how crowdfunding can be used to get a better deal for consumers and investors this week.

Just like any investment, property crowdfunding can be risky and potential investors should consider carefully before investing. The advantage of the structure is that each property is owned by a limited company, which mitigates against the impact of problems in other properties having a knock-on effect, and there is no debt.

MoneyCrowd.ie gets a mention.

Strong Pound helps British invest in Irish Property

The Telegraph in the UK is reporting that 48pc more Britons are searching for property in Spain and Ireland than a year ago according to data garnered from Rightmove.co.uk.

This combined with the OECD saying that property in Ireland in undervalued signals a buying opportunity for those with cash.

This is backed up by a report from the newly formed Real Estate Alliance that enquiries to EAs outside of Dublin have risen 13% in the past two months. See here.

Commercial Property. Tight supply, Prices rise

Finfacts reports on that the global index company MCSI finds that Irish commercial property returns were among the highest in the world last year. Source here.

The head of the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland (SCSI) might have an explanation for that as she expressed concern about the shortage of office space as reported in the Sunday Independent here.

The current shortage of prime office space in our major cities poses a threat to our international competitiveness in terms of attracting foreign direct investment.

We need more access to development finance to ensure adequate supply is brought to the market, especially as it is now viable to build prime offices again,

Other Property News

Donnacha Fox laments the Irish property obsession with this piece in the Irish Independent.

For a bit of balance, and indeed a reminder of the risks, heres a rundown on the whole property crowdfunding idea by the American site PSMag.com entitled Your Startup is Stupid

The new Irish Central Bank mortgage rules have been heavily reported and received a mixed welcome. Luckily, property crowdfunding investors here at MoneyCrowd dont have to worry about a mortgage. Heres a debate on the issue by Hugh Linehan and Conor Pope in The Irish Times.

Dont forget to follow MoneyCrowd on twitter for more property news and views.

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