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Article: NIRSA Study concludes over 300,000 vacant properties nationwide

The_Conductor · 2010-01-19 16:01:32

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0119/breaking59.htm Over 300,000 homes - more than double the official estimate - are lying empty around the country, academics claimed today. The scale of vacant housing - equivalent to half of all homes in Dublin - could be enough to meet demand for years to come. The…

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#32 06-03-2010 12:16pm
The_Conductor

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SLUSK wrote: »

I would not be surprised if the current Irish government or the next one pays to demolish all these empty houses in order to keep the prices high.

Why?
If market forces are allowed to value these @ whatever the market might bear- there would be rural population explosions- Leitrim would have its highest ever population- and many more rural counties wouldn't be far behind relatively.
This would remove the imperative to build schools and improve infrastructure in Dublin/Waterford/Cork/Limerick/Galway/Sligo- in lieu of greater ulitisation of underused resources elsewhere.

Eventually when prices fall low enough- even if it means giving away the units free- people will live there. Some sort of schemes for the maintenance and upkeep of the units could be a source of local employment- and with the mini population booms- all sorts of indigenous cottage industries could be encouraged, which might in turn rejuvenate tourism and lessen dependence on supermarkets etc. Even the renovation of these units (knocking 1 and 2 bed units into 3-4 bed units, properly insulating them etc)- could provide employment opportunities for years- and in the process turn these into desired properties.

I know its a crap situation- but with a bit of imaginative thinking, it could be turned on its head and these current white elephants could be integrated into viable housing units......?

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