[Article] Irish price growth in 36-year period third highest among 18 Developed ...

chump

International House Price Comparisons 1970-2006: Irish price growth in 36-year period third highest among 18 Developed Countries

Article posted by finfacts.com
http://finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1012464.shtml

Article too large to quote directly, a few interesting factoids and niblets

In 2006, Irish price growth from 1970, exceeded that in Sweden by 168%, Denmark by 65%, Norway by 79% and Finland which has been a strong economic performer since 1993 - a period that coincides with the emergence of the Celtic Tiger - by 123%.

Irish price growth has been comparable with that of the UK where planning restrictions keeps building of new houses at the lowest level of the big European economies. Traditionally, the Tory controlled councils in the shires have supported the protection of the green belt i.e. Nimbyism (Not-in-My-Backyard Syndrome) while it has suited Labour controlled councils in the cities to pack as many people as possible into existing urban areas.

In October 2006, we reported on a global survey which showed that for the cost of a typical house in an area favoured by a management level family in Dublin, you could buy nine similar houses in Houston, Texas, three in Amsterdam, two in Sydney and almost two in Tokyo.

The paper pointed out that the M25 ring route around London is 25 miles from the centre of that city and contains within its circumference a city of eight million people. A similar ring around Dublin contains just one million people, indicating that Dublin's future development should be in higher density along transport corridors.

A full 23% of the overall budget of the National Roads Authority for roads is to be spent on compensating landowners.

In January, the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers' Association said that there are 40,000 vacant apartments in Dublin - equivalent to more than half of the Irish housing units that were built in 2007.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is likely to welcome "sustainable" conditions soon.
In July 2007 he said:"Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don't know how people who engage in that don't commit suicide because frankly the only thing that motivates me is being able to actively change something."

In September 2007 he said: "But there is no place for negativity. No need for any pessimism. Above all, there is no place for politically motivated attempts to talk down the economy and the achievements of our people across all sectors."

Economist Jerome Casey, who is editor of the Building Industry Bulletin in a report in 2003, said that site costs account for 42.5% of the cost of a house nationwide. Casey said that typically in the mid 1990s, Durkan Brothers sold apartments off O'Connell Street for £35,000 to £40,000 (€44,440 to €50,790) for which the site cost was £5,000. Currently, both the Irish Council for Social Housing and private house builders are reporting city house site costs at up to 50% of the house price. Outside the cities, site costs can represent up to 40% of the house price. For the country as a whole, site costs may now constitute 42.5% of the house price, an increase of almost 30 percentage points on the pre-boom position. In Dublin that increases to 50%. Overall the Irish figures are grossly out of line with the rest of the developed world.

In November 2004, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said that 28% of the average price of a new house in Ireland is collected in taxes and levies by the State.

gurramok

Yes, rip-off republic due to the factors outlined.

Highest prices in EU27 for a sparsely populated country as i highlighted in a previous thread(lovely density map here, look at all those grey areas!) http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/Map%202%20'Population%20Density%20of%20Electoral%20Divisions,%202006.pdf)

The last paragraph in the OP's post sums up why a govt turned a blind eye to the frenzy, they needed the dosh from new builds to give the impression of an economy built on solid foundations hence sever correction on the way.

23% of Irish GNP is dependent on construction and its related activites compared to half that in europe(excluding Spain)

What goes up must come down and it will.

A Random Walk

Why do Irish people see high house prices as a good thing? We all have to pay for somewhere to live, it would be much better to have low prices. Housing costs are essentially a tax.