Sam Boal / Photocall Sam Boal / Photocall / Photocall

THERE HAS BEEN quite a bit of good news this week in the property market.

The building trade, one of the major victims of the downturn, has seen a jump in growth.

There has also been more optimistic news for house buyers – with AIB reporting an upsurge in the number of mortgages they’ve been giving out.

Here’s everything you need to know from the last week in property…

The Big Movers

Construction on the up

After many years in the wilderness – it seems the construction industry is making a comeback. This week it recorded its fastest hike in new business for a decade. According to Ulster Bank’s construction purchasing managers’ index, the industry has seen its biggest rise in activity since November 2004.

Bank construction PMI Figures above the 50-point line indicate growth, below the line means employment is shrinking. Bank construction PMI

The industry had previously shrunk from 274,000 in 2007 to only 100,000 in 2012 according to CSO figures.

More mortgages – fewer people in arrears 

On Monday, a management statement from AIB showed that the bank was giving out more mortgages – and that less of their customers were in arrears.

The statement from the bank showed a significant reduction in the level of drawdowns in October compared with September.

Sam Boal / Photocall CEO of AIB David Duffy Sam Boal / Photocall / Photocall

Speaking about the third quarter, CEO of AIB David Duffy said the company is meeting its strategic goals and wants to generate a return for the State.

“The bank is profitable, generating capital and has the capacity and appetite to meet increased lending demand in the economy.

Is it really 20%? 

Remember that whole thing about having to stump up a fifth of a house’s value as a deposit? Well that might not be as solid as it first seemed. This week, governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan, indicated that there may be ways around this condition.

In a speech he made to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), Honohan outlined the possibility of mortgage insurance, which would see potential buyers put down a deposit of 10% if the other 10% was covered by an insurance company.

money money

Honohan pointed out that this was a system that had been used in the United States for over 100 years.

Under construction

• Good news for Permanent TSB – who look like they’ll be returning to profit sooner than expected. Although this won’t mean cheaper mortgages.
• This week it was shown that Ulster Bank charge customers in the Republic more than in the North – and it’s down to running costs it seems. 
• Despite the ongoing threat to bricks-and-mortar businesses that online poses – figures show that business premises are still not a bad investment. 
• Dalanta Hotel Group, Ireland’s biggest hotel owner, could be set to add another 10 hotels to their chain. 

• All the good economic news has meant a turn around for the nation’s ghost estates. Less of them are set to be knocked down than previously thought.
• Good news for the garda this week. Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has green lighted the building of a number of regional headquarters. 
• Do you like castles? This one in Co Waterford is on the market. It comes with an 18-hole golf course and is supposedly haunted.  
• It seems people are willing to pay more to live near a school – regardless of how good it is.

Des res

This week’s dream property is a $42 million three-storey penthouse in New York’s Lincoln Centre. The apartment has 360 degree views of the New York skyline and is in a building with an around-the-clock doorman, security staff and concierge.