Source: for sale via shutterstock

THINGS ARE STILL on the up as far as property prices are concerned.

That’s been reaffirmed again this week by new CSO figures, with the upward trend in the property market showing no sign of abating.

And if we needed any more proof that things are getting back to their boomy ‘best’, Grafton Street in the centre of Dublin seems to now be back to full occupation.

The Big Movers

Problem solving

This week the Government announced its strategy to solve the housing crisis. The plan will be rolled out over the next six years and should see 35,000 additional housing units being provided.

The scheme also aims at providing housing for 75,000 families through the provision of private accommodation – paid for through the Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

Source: TheJournal Politics/Twitter

The programme received a mixed response from interested parties, with the Simon Community criticising the plan for its lack of immediacy, and Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Críona Ní Dhálaigh saying she was “dismayed” that the scheme “only promises an extra €36 million a year towards the housing crisis”.

Still rising 

New CSO figures issued on Wednesday showed that property prices remain on the up – climbing 8.3% across the country in the 12 months leading up to October – including a 1.3% increase last month alone.

Rises in the market were particularly pronounced in the nation’s capital. In the last year prices in Dublin have shot up by 24.2%.

Source: cso.ie

Despite this – things are still much cheaper than they were in pre-crash 2007. Prices nationwide were shown to be 42.5% less than this time seven years ago.

To let 

This week someone very much in the know advised people thinking of getting onto the property ladder that renting is the way to go.   

Conor Skehan, chairman of the Housing Agency, said that Irish people need to move away from the idea that they should profit from their home.

Source: Tv3

Speaking as part of a Tv3 documentary hosted by Matt Cooper, Skehan said, “I’m the chairman of the Housing Agency and I will never buy a piece of property again. I rent.”

As part of the documentary Cooper also travels to Germany to examine a property market where nearly half of the population rent.

Under construction

• This week new leases by Claire’s Accessories and Life Style Sports meant that the nation’s main shopping street is back to full capacity. 
• The local council and developers were accused of taking a ‘Pontius Pilate’ approach to water leaks by residents at a apartment building in Tallaght.  
• Had a boiler put in recently? You might want to get it checked. Turns out a lot of them have been installed illegally. 
• A large green area in the middle of a housing estate in Kerry sank down into the ground during the week. It may not have been for environmental reasons.   
• Despite this week’s big Government drive to solve the housing crisis, Dublin City Council are still accepting developer’s payments in lieu of social housing. 
• This week has seen this shipping container that has been recycled into a housing unit go on display at the IMMA. 

• Gort, a town on the Galway/Clare border, has just under a quarter of its population made up by Brazilians. 
• If you’ve been worrying about your new ‘Eircode’ inadvertently containing some filthy language – worry not – measures are being taken to prevent that happening. 

Des res

Struggling to get onto the property ladder? Worried about the Central Bank’s new mortgage rules?

Well there’s a few bargains on the go over in Liverpool. A number of houses are being offered the City Council for the low, low price of £1. The properties have been uninhabited following the decline of the city’s shipyards.

The homes are located in the Edge Hill area – about 5 km east of the city centre.