Daft Property - Irish Property News

2008 Review: NEGOTATING: It was the year everybody learnt how to haggle. Arthur Beesley reports... HERE'S A dilemma. After searching for that sleek new home, you've finally found just the place, done the deal, raised the money, surveyed to your satisfaction and readied your crew for the big move. All that remains is to ink the contract. Should you sign? Or should you refuse, warning that you will withdraw if the vendor won't cut their price? After all, there may be no one else in the race. And the vendor, for whatever reason, may be under pressure to complete the sale. Threatening to pull out now might endanger the deal, but a lower price would improve your fiscal position. Your call. You're a buyer in a rapidly declining market. Your job is secure, your bank is on board and you're ready to transact. You might see dishonour in seeking to snatch better terms after a "final" agreement is reached - or you may decide there's no place for moral quibbles in

Property spend plunges €40bn... Irish spend on property has crashed by 60pc in 2008 compared to last year, with expenditure down by a crushing 73pc -- or around €40bn -- since the market peaked in 2006. Our property spend is forecast to fall to €15bn this year -- down from €45bn in 2007 and a heady €54.4bn in 2006, according to the latest 'Property Outlook' from Savills. Joan Henry, head of Research at Savills Ireland says that all sectors of the property market have been affected -- most obviously the new homes area. The total spend on new homes is expected to fall from an estimated €23bn in 2007 to just €6bn this year. Spend in the Irish investment market is expected to be down as much as 75pc from last year's €2bn. Spend on domestic land is expected to fall by a staggering 80pc. In the new homes as in the second hand market, prices have fallen by as much as 30pc this year and maybe more if looked at on an individual basis. "Successive price reductions this year, cou