Daft Property - Irish Property News

300,000 are 'wiped out' by the recession... THE average Irish person is now about 30 per cent worse off than they were before the recession, a startling new report has found. The report, by economist consultants at Indecon, also found that almost 300,000 people had been wiped out financially over the last four years. These 300,000 people have seen their incomes plummet by about 50 per cent because most of them were in well-paid full-time jobs in 2007 but are now relying on the dole after the recession forced them out of their jobs. The report, which was given exclusively to the Sunday Independent, is the first to examine the toll of the recession on the everyday finances of ordinary people. Its findings come in the wake of Environment Minister Phil Hogan's decision to hit most homeowners with a €100 household charge and a new Government plan to slash the pay rates of tens of thousands of future workers in areas such as catering, hotels, retail and hairdressing.

More pain as households hit with new €100 ‘property’ tax... ALMOST all households are set to be hit with a new €100 service charge to be announced this week, the Irish Independent has learned. The Cabinet will sign off on the combined water and property tax tomorrow, despite the easing of the debt burden under the new EU bailout deal. Environment Minister Phil Hogan is coming under pressure to exempt those on low incomes from the new tax, which will result in middle-income earners paying more. The Government is expecting to bring in upwards of €150m from the charge. The flat-rate levy, to be introduced next year, will be the first tough decision to be taken by the Coalition that will prove unpopular to the overwhelming majority of people. The options for the annual charge range from €100 to €200 a year. The likely outcome is a sum at the lower range of €100, with a small number of exemptions -- the solution favoured by Mr Hogan. However, this will have to be approved by the

Prices for self-catering holiday homes have been slashed by up to 60 per cent - despite July and August being peak season - because letting agents cannot rent them otherwise. Dream Holiday Homes and self catering.ie, two of the country’s largest such firms, last week reported significant cuts in prices and a surge in business for special-offer rates. Selfcatering.ie managing director Mary Carr said that ‘‘never before in high season have rates been cut to such a degree’’. ‘‘Houses for seven days in the likes of Rosslare or Kenmare, which have always been popular, have dropped from €950 or €850 per week to €750 or €650. ‘‘We have deals for inland accommodation in places like Westmeath for €299 a week and in hotels like Breaffy House [Mayo] for €134 per person sharing for two adults’ bed and breakfast with one evening meal, with two kids eating and staying for free. ‘‘Local attractions and businesses are all offering discounts, and people are more price-conscious than ever. Inste

Auction Results for the 87 Lots sorted by Lot Number Lots: 1-87 1 Vacant Flat Dublin 1 Sold €148,000 2 Investment Flat Blackrock Sold €270,000 3 Investment Freehold Building Clondalkin Sold €139,000 4 Investment Freehold House Stepaside Sold €146,000 5 Investment Flat Dublin 7 Sold €177,000 6 Vacant Freehold House Castlebar Sold €87,000 7 Vacant Leasehold House Dublin 3 Sold €67,000 8 Investment Flat Dublin 1 Sold €145,000 9 Investment Freehold Building Bray Sold €220,000 10 Vacant Freehold House Stillorgan Sold €280,000 11 Vacant Freehold House Tyrrelstown Sold €129,000 12 Land/Site Blackrock Sold €66,000 13 Vacant Freehold House Thomastown Sold €50,000 14 Investment Freehold House Kilkenny City Sold €440,000 15 Investment Flat Blackrock Sold €285,000 16 Investment Flat Dublin 9 Sold €55,000 17 Investment Freehold Building Drogheda Available €290,000 18 Vacant Flat Arklow Sold €71,000 19 Vacant Flat Dublin 1 Sold €132,000 20 Vacant Freehold House Dublin 4 Sold

Ireland left to count the true cost of euro dream... An exclusionary venture that values banks ahead of ordinary people – this is not what we signed up for. JUST THREE years ago we were being bamboozled into voting for the Lisbon Treaty, the then latest stage in the creation of a wondrous European project that would consolidate peace on the continent and promote yet further wealth creation. It would also give Europe a voice in world affairs corresponding to its financial clout, give greater administrative cohesion to the decision-making processes in the union and incorporate the industries of war (defence industries) into the corporate structure of the union. The Lisbon Treaty had arisen from the refusal of the French and Dutch electorates to approve a draft European constitution. The new treaty was devised to give effect to the purpose of the draft constitution, while avoiding the tiresome ordeal of obtaining electoral approval anywhere, except Ireland. The Irish electorate, a

Second-home owners have two days to pay €200 council charge or face fine... OWNERS of more than 300,000 holiday homes and residential investment properties have until Thursday to cough up €200 to their local authority or face fines. If the levy is not paid by June 30, owners risk penalties of €20 a month. The charge has raised almost €160m for local authorities nationwide since it was introduced in 2009. Last year, €66m was collected for 318,889 properties, down slightly on the 2009 figure of €68.2m on more than 322,000 properties. Those who are unable to pay the charge should contact their local authority to see if they can come to an arrangement to pay by instalments, said tax expert Cathal Maxwell of paylesstax.ie. Mr Maxwell added that there was a major squeeze being put on people with investment properties as lenders tried to force them off interest-only mortgage deals, invoking clauses in contracts to review the mortgage. This can mean monthly repayments tripling if inv

Property auction disaster shows prices still falling... IRELAND'S first discounted property auction proved a disaster yesterday, with just two of the 63 properties on offer being sold. Only two separate plots of land sold for a total of €95,000 at the auction in a Cork hotel, despite the fact that over €10m worth of houses and properties were on offer. Those same properties were worth almost €30m just five years ago. But yesterday potential bidders felt the prices were still too high. Analysts grimly warned last night that it was proof the Irish market had still to reach rock bottom -- with potential buyers convinced that prices will fall back further. Yesterday's auction was the first to involve discounted Irish properties. These are cut-price holdings being sold by private owners or developers eager to dispose of assets. Ireland's first distressed-property auction took place in Dublin last April when €14.8m worth of deals were struck. Distressed property invol

Ireland is now more than 10 billion euro in the red after the latest banking bailouts, latest Exchequer figures reveal. The Department of Finance said the debt crisis would have improved significantly - by almost 700 million euro - if it had not been for massive payments pumped into Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide in March. More than three billion euro injected into the doomed lenders from the public purse is largely to blame for a deficit jump from just under eight billion euro this time last year to 10.2 billion euro. While income tax has increased - mainly because of the universal social charge - overall taxes were lower than predicted by department officials, the latest figures show. This was mainly down to a shortfall on corporation taxes, which came in 140 million euro less than calculated. There were also lower than expected capital taxes, including stamp duty. The Department of Finance said the shock corporation tax figures could be partly blamed on "timi

Confusion as Hogan insists 'property tax' will happen... Environment Minister Phil Hogan insisted last night that a new flat-rate household charge -- a precursor to a property tax -- would come in next year. The minister's statement of intent came following confusion created by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore, both of whom said no formal decision had been made. The household charge will be used to pay for local services and will ultimately be replaced by a full property tax based on the value of the home. The Government will also bring a separate water charge, once houses are metered. But the details of this rollout will also have to be sorted out by the Government. Following the split over Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton's proposals to cut wages for low-paid workers, the Coalition was again forced to deny a clash between Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Despite Mr Hogan clearly signalling a new property tax-style charge would be introduced

Scramble to stem panic after new bailout gaffe... Alarm after Varadkar claims State will need further loans. THE Government last night scrambled to allay fears that a second bailout is on the cards, following damaging comments by a cabinet minister. Transport Minister Leo Varadkar sparked alarm and confusion when he said the Government may need to get new loans from the European Union and IMF next year. Ahead of an anticipated backlash from investors this morning, Finance Minister Michael Noonan's officials insisted the Coalition's firm plan was still to return to borrowing on the bond markets in 2012. The Department of Finance stressed there was no change in the Government's plans, as Mr Varadkar's comments were reported around the world. Mr Varadkar was also left backpedalling after he was reported as saying: "I think it's very unlikely we'll be able to go back (to borrowing on the bond markets) next year. I think it might take a bit longer...

Repossessions to surge as mortgage crisis deepens... 25,000 families now more than a year behind on their repayments. MORE than 25,000 families in Ireland are in turmoil this weekend, living with the terror of being more than a year behind on their mortgages and past the point where they can ever hope to pay back the money they owe. The shocking finding follows an analysis of figures compiled by the Central Bank of Ireland and released without fanfare during the high profile visit of Queen Elizabeth and on the day that former Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald died. The figures show that more than 35,000 people are now over six months in arrears on mortgages worth more than €7bn. But leading mortgage expert Ciaran Phelan of the Irish Brokers' Association has analysed the figures and says the situation is even worse than that portrayed by the regulatory authority. He says even a "back-of-the-envelope" assessment of the latest statistics indicates that 25,000 of tho

Number of homeowners in arrears soars to 50,000... THE number of homeowners in arrears on their mortgages has jumped by 5,100 to almost 50,000 in the first three months of the year. The arrears figure represents 6.3pc of the 782,429 residential mortgage accounts, according to the Central Bank. Meanwhile, another 36,600 homeowners, who are not in arrears, have made arrangements with their lender to reduce their repayments. This means that a total of 86,211 homeowners -- 11pc of all mortgage-holders -- were struggling to meet their repayments in March, the Central Bank said. While the trend is worrying, eight out of every nine mortgage holders are still meeting their original repayment commitments. Frank Conway of personal finance website MoneyCoach added that although the growth in the arrears was unfortunate, there was no rapid deterioration in the rise in rate of arrears. "These latest statistics largely include the effects of the introduction of the universal socia

Drugs, drink and the stench of urine are alive, alive oh... Queen Elizabeth and Barack Obama are on their way to Dublin, but we won't be be in a hurry to show them sections of the city centre where drug dealers, drunks and beggars rule the roost... It is a gloriously sunny May morning in Dublin and there's considerable drama happening outside Ireland's national theatre, The Abbey. A crowd of vagrants -- their faces ravaged by years of drug addiction -- roar obscenities at each other. They seem to be arguing over the final dregs of cider in a large plastic bottle. One of them -- a woman who looks like she's in her 40s but is probably much younger -- swings a punch at an especially emaciated man and keels over in the effort. The commotion lasts for five minutes until they split into two groups -- the smaller bunch making their way unsteadily towards Eden Quay, the other along Marlborough Street in a northbound direction. They leave behind a trail of litter -- includ

Millions wiped off value of land in dezoning... DEVELOPERS have taken massive hits on the value of their land banks, as one-in-three local authorities have dezoned land earmarked for development. The moved has wiped hundreds of millions off the value of land across the country -- with taxpayers facing a massive bill for NAMA loans linked to land returning to agricultural use. Planning Minister Willie Penrose said yesterday that 12 of the State's 34 local authorities had made changes to their development plans which has resulted in thousands of sites now being classed as unsuitable for development. Last year, local authorities were ordered to dezone, rezone or forbid development on massive land banks to comply with tough new planning guidelines which set out where houses and commercial units could be built. The move came because councillors had zoned enough land during the boom years to build more than a million homes that were not needed. Councils had previously zoned m

10.8pc plunge in Irish house prices... House prices in Ireland are falling at a double-digit rate but property values in other countries are showing signs of stabilising, research indicated today. The average cost of a home in Ireland dropped by 10.8pc during 2010 as the market suffered from the fall-out of the country's economic problems, according to estate agent Knight Frank. The drop was the biggest recorded for the total of nearly 50 countries looked at by the group. The pace of the falls are also showing little sign of easing, with property losing 3.5pc of its value during the final quarter alone. Steep price falls were also seen in Dubai, with property values diving by 6.1pc during the third quarter of 2010, the latest quarter for which figures are available. But there was better news for those who have bought second homes in France, with house prices in the country actually rising by 9.5pc during 2010. The more conservative French mortgage market means that hous

Census to answer questions about state of nation... ARE WE losing our religion and getting divorced more often than before as the recession tightens its grip? How many of us are moving abroad to find work and escape the economic crisis? These questions and many more will be answered by Census 2011, which takes place on Sunday, April 10th, and will provide researchers with a treasure trove of statistical data to pore over to determine the state of the nation. Some 5,000 staff working for the Central Statistics Office (CSO), who are called enumerators, will begin distributing green Census 2011 forms to all 1.8 million households across the State from today. Everyone who is in the State on Sunday, April 10th, must fill in one of the 24-page forms, which include a range of personal questions designed to create a comprehensive picture of the social and living conditions across the State. The green forms ask for basic information about the occupants of a household such as their age

'My business closed and I couldn't find long-term work'... LAST MONTH Helena gave birth to her daughter Anna. Four weeks later, she faces the possibility of eviction from a homeless hostel in Dublin with Anna, her two sons Ondrey and Patrick, and her husband Stefan. The family, who are originally from the Czech Republic, are just one of hundreds – and possibly thousands – of EU migrant families experiencing destitution as the recession tightens its grip. Stefan and his family arrived in Ireland in 2006 to find work and create a new life. He worked for several months as a self- employed painter, but work dried up as the economy slowed. He picked up sporadic work here and there but ended up relying on benefits. “My business closed and I couldn’t find any long-term work. They have now stopped our social welfare benefits and want to send us back to the Czech Republic,” says Stefan, who is a member of the Roma community. “I dont want to go back to the Czech Republic. T

Boomtime buyers bypassed apartments for a suburban semi... IT's a snapshot of home ownership at the end of the property bubble and shows that, for most of us, only a house is a home. New research shows that despite a raft of advertisements encouraging people to buy 'luxury' apartments in 'exclusive' developments during the boom, buyers instead chose the traditional semi-d in the suburbs. The Eurostat housing report 2009, published yesterday, shows that Ireland has the lowest level of flat dwelling in the European Union. Just 3.1pc of the population live in flats or apartments, compared to an EU average of 41.7pc. Given our population of 4.5 million people, it means that just under 140,000 people live in a flat. This is despite more than 130,000 being built between 2000 and 2009 during the property boom. The most popular form of housing is a semi-detached or terrace house -- almost 58pc live in these homes, more than twice the EU average of 23pc. Detached

Reports blame Cowen for stoking fires of 'meltdown'... TAOISEACH Brian Cowen's overheating of the economy and failure to deflate the property bubble when he was Finance Minister will be identified today as contributing to the banking crisis. The damning findings will be contained in two reports into the banking crisis, which senior coalition sources last night said were "devastating". Contrary to the Taoiseach's version of events a fortnight ago, where he sought to absolve himself of blame in a major speech on the economy, Mr Cowen's budgetary policies are singled out for criticism. The reports also: * Attack bank directors for allowing the financial crisis to develop. * Criticise the Financial Regulator for being too lax. * Find the Central Bank failed to take responsibility in the overall stability of the banking system. * Point out economic projections made by a number of organisations were wrong. The report by Central Bank governor Prof

Time to raze the unfinished relics of the building boom... Ireland is about to witness a US-style degeneration of half- built housing schemes into ghost estates, says Juno McEnroe. FORMER US President Thomas Jefferson once said that small landholders are the most precious part of a state. In Ireland this phrase rang true during the boom with the first-time buyers and start-up investors who were encouraged to throw their cash into property. At one stage the property and construction sector made up over 20% of Government income. A precious pot for the State indeed. But just as Jefferson’s ideology of giving tracts of land to ordinary US citizens ended up benefiting greedy speculators, Ireland’s property investment schemes during the boom saw towns ravaged by sprawl, over-development and a plethora of ‘phantom’ or ‘ghost estates’ that now look unlikely ever to be finished . So it now looks as though the landholders will be the most worthless, or even the costliest, part of our esteemed st