Junior Minister Denies Ireland Is Heading For Another Housing Bubble
Ireland is not heading into another property bubble, according to the Junior Housing Minister.
Official figures released yesterday confirmed prices have risen by more than 50% since they hit a low in 2013. The average cost of buying a home in Dublin now stands at €400,000.
The CSO figures show in the last year alone, asking prices have risen by 11%, with D4, D6 and Blackrock still the most expensive places in the country to buy.
Today, more figures have revealed just 8,800 houses were added to Ireland's housing stock over the past 5 years - a 0.4% increase.
Just 8,800 extra homes were built in that time - compared with more than 225,000 between 2006 and 2011.
The Census figures show a drop in the number of people who own their home and a rise in the number of people renting. Trends also suggest most people can't afford to own a home until they're over 35.
Rents in Dublin increased by 30 per cent between 2011 and 2016 - with the national increase being almost 17 per cent.
49,000 households are now paying more than 300 euro a week in rent - a 166% rise since 2011.
Despite those statistics, the Junior Housing Minister Damien English doesn't think we're heading for another boom/bust situation.
"The ESRI and most commentators would agree that this year's [housing] supply would be up around 19000 houses. That is 7000 more than there was two years ago".
"Next year it will be up over 22000", he predicts.