Wednesday 20th March, 2024                            

CSO House Prices – Rises Predictable Given Unintended Consequences of Current Policy - IPAV

Commenting on today’s CSO House Price Index for January, IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, said as prices move higher again, in line with IPAV’s own published findings and expectations, there is need for unprecedented measures to encourage supply.

Pat Davitt, IPAV’s Chief Executive, said:  “We are not alone in calling for measures, such as addressing planning impediments and the high cost of finance, particularly for SME builders, the International Monetary Fund, for example, recognising the counterproductive nature of excessive regulation, has called for the removal of rent caps to increase housing supply, “ he said.

And he said the IMF has also called for greater certainty to developers, such as improving the transparency and certainty around approval processes, and accelerating them.

“The massive hike in ECB interest rates is a new challenge over the last 18 months” he said.

And he said it was unfortunate that policy responses too often “demonise and over regulate those with the capacity to deliver, rather than giving reasonable facilitation. It is, for example, difficult to comprehend in practical terms why State funded schemes should demand unreasonably high interest rates from builders and developers, long before the ECB began to raise its rates.”

Mr Davitt said there is a lack of appropriate market expertise and knowledge around housing policy formation.