Daft Property - Irish Property News

Property Council to sue State, banks over collapse: AN ORGANISATION representing property investors and developers is to take a class action in the High Court against the Government, the Financial Regulator and the banks over their roles in the collapse of the property market. The Irish Property Council (IPC) is to outline its plans today for the court proceedings which will set out to apportion responsibility for the collapse. It says the ruination of the property market has been caused “by the reckless lending of our banks, lack of regulation by our Government and the disregard of prudent advice on fiscal policy by the Government in power”. The council is to invite developers, house purchasers or investors who are now “total casualties of the collapse” to put forward their names for the court action and a claim for compensation. The IPC was set up last year to provide support for small builders, developers and investors who have run into financial difficulties following the

House prices now falling faster than ever... HOUSE prices are falling more steeply than ever, as sellers discount heavily to try to secure a sale. Average prices nationally fell by 1.4pc in January, compared to falls of 0.8pc in October, 0.5pc in November and 0.9pc in December, according to the latest Permanent TSB/ESRI house price index. Prices were down by 9.8pc in the 12 months to January, compared to a fall of 9.1pc in the year to December. The average price paid for a house nationally last month was €258,006, down €3,500 on December 2008, and compared with a peak price of €311,078 in January 2007. The price falls have increased in recent months, said Permanent TSB manager of business strategy Niall O'Grady. "The pace of reductions is clearly accelerating due to deepening price discounting in the market in an attempt to clear existing stock," he said. Dublin house prices were worst hit, falling by 1.4pc in January, whereas there was a reduction of 0.6pc for houses out

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