Daft Daft

EVERY WEEK, WE bring you all the news you need to know about the property market.

The Big Movers

Almost 100,000 Irish homes are in negative equity

According to a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) there are 99,950 houses in negative equity – the lowest levels since the recession hit. The ESRI predicts that if property prices continue to rise as they have been, all Irish homes should be free of negative equity by 2019.

Architects call for a Department of the Built Environment

Amongst the ongoing discussions regarding the formation of a new government, the Royal Institute of Architects Ireland (RIAI) has called for a dedicated Government Minister and Department for the Built Environment to help focus on long-term planning and the delivery of quality homes.

Under Construction

Brian MacLochliann www.BMLmedia.ie Brian MacLochliann www.BMLmedia.ie

• One Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin city centre has sold for €19.2 million, with the annual rent set to be €1 million from September 2016. The building was acquired by property investment group Hibernia.
  
• The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has been putting pressure on the Central Bank to ease its restrictions on the size of deposit required to get a mortgage, according to a report in the Irish Independent.
• The Private and Residential Tenancy Board (PRTB) has released new figures showing that while private rental rates slowed down somewhat in the last quarter of 2015, overall there has been a 2.2% increase in rents nationwide.

Shutterstock / Vycheslav Leskovskiy Shutterstock / Vycheslav Leskovskiy / Vycheslav Leskovskiy

Des Res

Fancy living in the world-famous Plaza Hotel in New York City? Now you can – if you have a spare $26 million (approximately €23.5 million), which is actually the reduced selling rate for this apartment, once occupied by  Frank Lloyd Wright. It was previously for sale for $39.5 million (approximately €35.6 million) but the price was reduced last March.