Ireland is now “being looked upon as potentially having addressed” its housing problem, the boss of Glenveagh Homes, Stephen Garvey, said last month. He was not being flippant.
He meant the Government had put in place the right policies to expand the State’s housing stock and that foreign investors recognised this.
He had just returned from the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes, where he said the mood music from institutional investors about Ireland was positive.
“What was really notable in the comments I found from institutional investors was that Ireland has made the really big decisions really early ... clearly stating the momentum is with them ... versus other economies that haven’t addressed the issues,” he said.
READ MORE
“There’s an affordability problem in Europe and they don’t exactly have the solution, and Ireland is now being looked upon as potentially having addressed these big issues.”
The policies he was referring to include changes to apartment design standards, an overhaul of the rent rules, and a reduction in VAT on new-build apartments.
He claimed the measures had removed most of the estimated €100,000 “viability gap” for apartments.
Garvey is no mug. He knows housing inside and out and he obviously believes there is now momentum in the industry here. He was speaking after Glenveagh reported higher revenues, profits and house sales for the year.
On the outlook for housing, the Central Bank said last week it sees completions rising to a post-Celtic Tiger record of 40,000 this year and to 43,000 and 46,000 in 2027 and 2028.
Those numbers are still down on the 50,000-plus target the Government is aiming for. The higher buildout rate is very much dependent on the State delivering the necessary infrastructure, it said.
“Higher housing output depends to a considerable extent on the delivery of necessary public infrastructure, including the implementation of the Accelerating Infrastructure action plan,” the Central Bank said.
One possible fly in the ointment is the current acceleration in input costs as a result of the Iran war. A prolonged conflict could trigger a renewed bout of construction inflation, which would pose a risk to projects in the pipeline.
