Daft Property - Irish Property News

The middle classes bear the brunt of crippling hikes in cost of living Cost of living survey The real cost of living is rising much, much faster than official figures suggest... The Sunday Independent/IIB Homeloans Cost of Living Index reveals who is being squeezed hardest and who can keep spending like there’s no tomorrow... THE MIDDLE CLASSES Cost of living up 14% in just two years THE Irish stock market is down 65 per cent, property prices are down about 20 per cent and Lansdowne Road won't be open for another two years. It's been an awful time for Ireland's aspiring middle classes. They have been hockeyed as their cost of living has risen at about one and a half times the national average. If you've bought a des res in Ranelagh, you'll feel the pain of a 68 per cent jump in mortgage repayments over two years. Especially if your house has lost 20 per cent of its value. Education costs are up 11.3 per cent. Insurance costs are up 3.6 per cent in the last year. Hea

IRELAND had the fourth biggest fall in house prices in the world this year ... Only Estonia, the US and Latvia have been harder hit by the drop in property values, a study by research group Global Property Guide shows. House prices in Ireland fell by 9.6pc in the year to June, according to the index. But when the level of inflation is taken into account, the drop was 13.9pc . The compilers of the index point out that "in Ireland, the 2009 Budget will include a 'stimulus package' helping first-time homebuyers". Latvia recorded the biggest fall in prices, after inflation was taken into account, with a 33pc drop. In the US, the inflation-adjusted fall for the year to June was 19pc. A host of European countries have recorded much smaller falls in house prices than Ireland. In Britain, the inflation-adjusted drop was nearly 10pc and Portugal recorded a fall of 8pc. Spain, which is now experiencing a sharp construction slowdown, recorded an inflation-adjusted decline of 2.

Does the following sound fimilar?... " This is an extraordinary period...Over the past few weeks, many...have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand their worry and their frustration . We've seen triple-digit swings in the stock market. Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse , and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money. We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis ... First, how did our economy reach this point? For more than a decade, a massive amount of money flowed ...from investors abroad, because our country is an attractive and secure place to do business. This large influx of money to... banks and financial institutions -- along with low interest rates -- made it easier...to get credit. These developments allowed more families to borrow money for cars and homes... some for the

Pressure on Cowen as millions go to waste... Millions of euro of taxpayers' money has been lost by state bodies and agencies, the report from spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said. In his first report, new C&AG John Buckley starkly uncovered the extent of the Government's failure to properly control its dwindling finances. It was published as ministers prepare to slash public services in next month's budget, which has been brought forward by six weeks, in a bid to combat the deepening economic downturn. The report revealed that the tax authorities had to make an embarrassing settlement of €1.7m to themselves for unpaid taxes, after failing to tax travel benefits awarded to their own staff. Mr Buckley's report exposed many of the same inadequacies as his predecessor, as he raised direct and specific concerns. He identified: "Shortcomings in the management of the State's financial resources". "Questions as to the eff

Revenue failed to tax €2m staff benefit... BENEFIT-IN-KIND TAX: DELAYS BY the Revenue in identifying obligations to tax benefit-in-kind (Bik) of approximately €2 million paid to its own staff is highlighted in the report. In the course of drafting a Statement of Practice during 2006, officials raised concerns in relation to the tax treatment of benefits received by Revenue's own staff in respect of travel to and from work. A working group reviewed benefits which had accrued from January 2004 to June 2007. About €2 million accrued by way of Bik during the period reviewed. This comprised €1.7 million for use of official vehicles by officers for travel to and from work, and €0.3 million paid under agreements made with staff whose work began or ended between the hours of 11pm and 8am in locations not served by public transport. An overall liability was calculated at €1,656,920, including interest and penalties. The relevant Inspector of Taxes was informed of Revenue's intention to

OPINION: Unbridled capitalism outlived its communist rival for exactly 17 years... POLITICAL HISTORIES, with their clear before-and-after dates, are so much neater to write about than their rather more tortuous economic cousins. On December 21st, 1991, the representatives of all member republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with the exception of Georgia, signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, dismembering the USSR. Just five days later, on St Stephen's Day 1991, the Supreme Soviet dissolved both itself and the country it had once ruled. One of the two great political and economic theories of the 20th century, Soviet communism, ceased to exist. The year 2008 will enter our history books as the year when the rival 20th century theory of unbridled capitalism passed away. As this demise is an economic one, we lack an equivalent before-and-after date. Perhaps historians with a sense of symmetry will select December 26th, 2008? Such a selection would allow us to write that unbridle

The crash is now the new porn... Fair play to the Irish, we'll knock a bit of crack out of anything. The property boom, for all that the official line now says it was the worst thing that ever happened to us, we treated as one huge game in which everyone could be a player. Even people who weren't investors as such, but who just happened to own a house because that's where they lived, had a great ride for 10 years as they constantly calculated how much their house was now worth and how much more they had made in the property game last year than they made by actually working. Most people were never going to sell their houses, and if they were they were going to have to buy an equally overpriced one, but people just enjoyed the feeling of getting ever richer on paper. What other nation could come up with a whole new type of porn, based on fully-clothed people standing in their kitchens, often flanked by their cute children? And the sight of a Miele kitchen in a period house

"Immigration is now not merely the dominant feature of Irish life, it is the greatest threat to the existence of the Irish nation as a coherent, and cohesive whole" "No country has ever accepted, never mind assimilated, the volumes of foreigners now present in this state. We have some 400,000 legal immigrants; but everyone knows that the army of illegals, especially Africans and Chinese, is vast, and probably tops 200,000. In all, Ireland has received at least 600,000 immigrants, most of them within the past five years. It could be many more. No one has the least idea. In the US, such immigration would translate into an inward population movement of 45 million. In the UK, the figure would be nine million. Needless to say, neither state would be so idiotic or feckless as allow such vast numbers to enter. Only Ireland would be so idiotic and so morally lethargic as to allow such massive inward population movements. And of course, we haven't got the resources to cope wi

THE GOVERNMENT has no plan to deal with the biggest economic crisis in a quarter of a century and lacks the conviction to win public confidence, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny told an opening session of a two-day special conference of his parliamentary party in Co Clare yesterday. Warning that the next general election "may come a lot sooner than expected", he told his colleagues that if they were "united, disciplined and tough" they would win power in the next Dáil. Focusing on the Government's approach to the economy, Mr Kenny said people were frightened because nobody seemed to be in charge. "In response to the biggest economic crisis in a quarter century, the Government first denied, then dithered, then went on holidays ." He added: "All the Government seems to be able to do is congratulate itself - in advance - for tough actions they haven't yet taken, and they'd never have needed to take if they'd done their job well enough in

Celtic Tiger eatery closes its doors as downturn really bites... Now facing closure, Cooke's Cafe has long been one of the favourite eateries of the cashed-up chattering classes in Dublin. But the award-winning venue -- which counts celebs like U2 among its customers -- has this evening been served up as the industry's first high-profile casualty of Ireland's credit crunch. A spokesperson for the eatery, situated on the corner of South William Street and Castle Market, has confirmed to the Herald that they will cease trading at the end of this month. "It's true, we're closing up," he said. Shock In news that has sent shock waves through the tight-knit circle of Dublin restaurateurs and chefs, Cooke's will close its doors in two weeks. It's understood that the lease has now been bought by Abrakebabra owner Graham Beere, who has indicated he may turn it into a sushi restaurant or use the venue to extend his chain of Gourmet Burger Kitchen. As proof t

Uncertainty over jobs after record market fall... AS grave uncertainty hangs over the future of thousands of jobs at Irish branches of recession-slammed US firms, markets are not expected to rebound quickly from yesterday’s record-breaking fall. At home, the ISEQ index of Irish shares’ closing figure was its lowest for more than five years. Across Europe, the trend was similarly dismal for a second day, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index falling 2.6% to its worst close since May 2005. The stock market shock waves followed the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old fourth largest financial institution in the US. In response, central banks around the globe pumped funds into the money markets, including €70bn from the European Central Bank, $50bn (€70.5bn) from the US Federal Reserve and £20bn (€25.2bn) from the Bank of England. Lehman’s bankruptcy filing, the biggest in US history, followed Merrill Lynch & Co’s decision at the weekend to sell itself to Bank of A

Smart talk? The whole global warming and need for carbon reduction is very much debatable. But measures are being taken in Ireland to reduce your carbon footprint in your house... It's now time for..."Smart meters scheme to help reduce home electricity bills... HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY meters in the Republic are to be replaced by "smart meters" which offer a range of functions including the intelligent use of cheap-rate electricity, while also providing for householders to sell home-generated electricity back to the national grid. The meters are to be rolled out over the next four years at a cost of almost €1 billion. Launching a pilot scheme involving an initial 15,000 smart meters yesterday, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said they would help householders to reduce their electricity bills, improve the operation of the electricity system and reduce carbon emissions. Smart meters can monitor and record the amount of electricity used by the householder, as well as when i

It's changing times for Dublin City... " Dublin's last iconic factory to become real estate After 249 years, tracts of the brewery are to be sold to developers . THE SIGHTS, sounds and smells of the Guinness brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin have been part and parcel of the Liberties for nearly 250 years - ever since Arthur Guinness himself first secured a 9,000-year lease on four acres of ground in 1759 for an annual rent of £45, including water rights. The brewery has expanded substantially since then and now occupies 64 acres on either side of Thomas Street, stretching down to Victoria Quay on the River Liffey. It was from here that the Guinness barges transported kegs of stout downriver to the Lady Patricia and Lady Gwendolyn, moored at City Quay. The vast brewery has its own theatre and swimming pool, as well as the tracks of a narrow-gauge railway that once served the site. It still has its own power station to fuel the production of over 50 million barrels (n

"Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change 1970-2000" is a book, by Roy Foster, that looks at the development of the Celtic Tiger... "Cuddling Up With the Celtic Tiger" ...is a report by Adam Kirsch, on the New York Sun, which gives an interesting American 'take' on "Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change"... "When you consider how large a place Ireland occupies in" the Americian "cultural imagination, it's astonishing to realize how small a country it really is. Its current population is slightly more than 4 million; more people live in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens than in all 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. If the island seems to loom like a continent, the reason is, first of all, the Irish emigration that did so much to shape America in the 19th century. According to the Census Bureau, some 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, more than any other nationality except German. But you don't ha

The 'Fannie and Freddie' factor faces our banks too... If the two biggest American mortgage banks can go bust and be bailed out by the US government, could the same happen here? When the US government intervened to save Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae on Monday, it put the world on notice. We are now in a new era where our banks are the single biggest weakness in the economy and the State (meaning the taxpayer) will be expected to save them. The developments in America have serious implications for Ireland. If anything, our property boom was more ridiculous than that of the US. So the obvious question now is whether one of our banks might go bust. It could happen , but is it probable? We don't know; but if it wasn't a possibility, why has the share price of Irish banks fallen 60pc in the past year? The reason share prices have collapsed is that investors are afraid their money will disappear. Like the rest of us, they don't believe the banks' management. They have lo

With the market at its lowest point for many years, it's difficult to establish the right price for a property. Orna Mulcahy asked agents to nominate homes that represent good value. Simon Carswell suggests who might buy them, and how the purchase could be financed... FALLING PROPERTY prices may make it appear that there are bargains to be found out there but the tightening on mortgages means that borrowers will be fighting for higher loans. The credit crunch has forced lenders to seek larger cash deposits and higher borrowing costs from their new mortgage customers. The maximum mortgage to first-time buyers has been capped at 92 per cent by most lenders and standard variable rates have risen by an average of half a percentage point over the last year as the banks' own funding costs have risen. However, prices on many houses have reduced substantially to sell and banks are still open to lend mortgages to customers with large lump sums and a strong ability to repay. AIB, the lar

Developers cut prices, give interest free loans... Apartments in Elm Park, D4 and The Grange in Stillorgan are among those being offered at cut rates to buyers... TWO OF the country's largest developers are offering financial packages to buyers in an effort to kick-start the new homes market. In Dublin 4, two-bedroom apartments in the Elm Park development on Merrion Road, have dropped at least 20 per cent to €470,000 with developer Radora offering buyers loans at zero interest of between 20 and 30per cent of the selling price. Radora is controlled by Bernard McNamara along with Gerry O'Reilly and David Courtney. Meanwhile Ray Grehan of Glenkerrin Homes is offering buyers a 15 per cent interest-free loan for up to seven years on luxury two-bedroom apartments at The Grange in Stillorgan which are being sold at 2005 prices, of €525,000. The deal, which is backed by the Construction Industry Federation, is being offered across other Glenkerrin-developed properties including Ballint

State of emergency... BRIAN COWEN last night tried to get a grip on the country’s escalating economic crisis by calling an emergency October budget that looks primed to inflict deep spending cuts. The unprecedented decision to advance the budget — the centrepiece of the Dáil year — by almost two months to October 14 was sparked by shock in government circles at the collapse in tax revenues over the summer that has left the country heading for a €6 billion deficit by the year-end. The cabinet made the dramatic move as unemployment surged to a 10-year high as dole queues swelled by record amounts for the fourth month in succession. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the Government’s priority was to “curb spending” and this would be achieved through a “balance” of taxation, borrowing and cuts as he warned the country faced the worst economic conditions since the late 1980s. “We cannot let our state to drift into fiscal unsustainability. We have to take corrective action,” said Mr Lenihan

Exchequer faces €5bn shortfall as tax revenues drop sharply... TAX REVENUES are continuing to plummet, according to the latest official figures, which indicate the shortfall for the year could exceed €5 billion. This is far worse than the Government was expecting as recently as two months ago. In July, the Government projected a tax shortfall of €3 billion for the year, but a rapid slowdown in consumer spending has hit VAT receipts, while the dramatic slowdown in stamp duty and capital gains tax receipts has continued due to the property crash. The implications of the figures will be discussed by the Cabinet today at its first meeting after the August holiday break. Substantial cuts in public spending for next year now appear inevitable and are likely to be accompanied by increases in borrowing and taxation. The Opposition parties last night accused the Government of failing in its duty to get to grips with the crisis in the public finances during the summer and taking its traditional