Construction BUSINESS

Commenting on the latest Banking and Payments Federation Ireland Housing Market Monitor, Brokers Ireland said it reinforces what is known from several other sources – that major behavioural change is being forced upon what should be the normal house buying public, particularly  aspiring first-time buyers on average salaries.

Rachel McGovern, Director of Financial Services at the organisation which represents 1,250 broker firms, said: “The BPFI figures show non-household buyers now occupy 22pc of the newly built housing market compared with 7pc eight years ago, and this trend is predicted to continue. Also cash buyers are still very active in the market at 27.8pc of sales on an annualised basis in Q 4 2018. While some of the non-household buyers include charitable organisations and state institutions, nonetheless, the major takeaway is young people being squeezed out of the market, the lost generation.”

Rachel McGovern, Director of Financial Services at Brokers Ireland which represents 1,300 impartial broker firms throughout Ireland.

She said the onus is on the Government to find “innovative solutions not found to date to improve affordability for this important cohort of our society for which their enforced predicament is likely to have lifelong negative impacts on their financial health, and could over time also lead to social unrest.

“We’re a small country and solutions should not be beyond us, whether that be measures to reduce the cost of building homes or other measures. The situation is urgent,” she said.

Brokers Ireland reiterated once again that buying a home at an affordable price is, and has always been, the best way in which to grow personal wealth over the longer term.

Rachel McGovern also pointed to comments from social policy expert, Professor Tony Fahey who late last year said one of the great achievements of social policy in late 20th century was to increase home ownership among low-income households because it increased equality of wealth-holding, and provided housing security to poorer families.

“He also made the point that the social welfare pension system in Ireland is based on the assumption that pensioners don’t have rent to pay and don’t have significant mortgage payments,” she said.