"Housing is Now a Luxury Good, as Prices Continue to Rise" - Tóibín
The Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has expressed anger at the continued unbridled increase in house prices, stating that Housing is now a luxury good in Ireland.
Speaking on the issue, the Meath West TD said:
"Last month the average price for a house was €345,000. This is completely unaffordable for many in the squeezed middle. The rate of inflation in property price is crucifying families. Many Gardaí, nurses and doctors on a double income can't afford the asking prices in the greater Dublin area. For people even on high wages owning a home is now a luxury item out of reach. This is forcing people who work in the Dublin area to commute from further and further from Dublin. This is having a significant impact on the economy, forcing up wages and costs and forcing people from these professions to emigrate. People from other countries on working visas and are now presenting to County Councils as homeless.
House prices are now 13.4% above the peak in 2007 before the devastating market crashed that precipitated a decade of austerity. While the ingredients of the of the current housing bubble are different, there is no down that we are at unsustainable houses prices. Demand for housing remains solid but the economic wheel will turn. Vulture funds play a significant role within the market. House prices in Ireland are increasingly exposed to decisions international investors make”.
Deputy Tóibín continued: "Across the country we have 90,000 fully vacant homes. The government need to start appropriately taxing vacant homes and offering the funds raised from such taxation back, in grant format, to the homeowners for refurbishment to encourage them with a carrot and a stick, back into the rental market. We also have 4,000 vacant council-owned homes. This is completely unforgiveable. Unless drastic action is taken today, every crisis in Ireland which stems from the housing crisis will spiral out of control", concluded Tóibín.
