By 2030, the Irish government plans to build 300,000 homes.
In the 1980s, 250,000 homes were built.
In the 1990s, 400,000 homes were built.
In the 2000s, 600,000 homes were built.
In the 2010s, 100,000 homes were built.
In the last 4 years, 100,000 homes were built.
If the government instantly magiced 320,000 homes, we would meet today's demand. This includes an expected 5% turnover figure (i.e. for sale). Currently turnover is less than 1%
I'm under 40. 55,000 people sat the leaving cert exams when I did, 20 years ago. In 2024 that number was 61,000.
You'd need to make at least 80,000 new homes a year to keep up with today's demand - even after magically creating 320,000 homes. More in 10 - 15 years time.
In the 1980s, an Irish couple spent 17% of their income on a mortgage.
Today? 26%.
Back then, the average home cost 1.7x the average income.
Now? Over 7x.
Dual incomes used to be optional and got you a nicer home or on the ladder faster.
Now? Mandatory - even for a shit box.
Single income households? Essentially locked out (average age 39).
So no, your parents didn't have it harder. They had it handed to them - and pulled the ladder up.
In the 2024 Irish elections, the parties in power promised ~50,000 new homes a year. This falls drastically short of current and expected demand.
Boycotting holiday homes in Mayo is not a solution.
Exempting a garden shed with notions from planning is not a solution.
Google offering housing to public sector workers is not a solution.
Blaming others is not a solution.
We know what the solution is. For 10+ years they've said "It won't happen overnight".
Bullshit - it won't happen at all
In those 10 years, homelessness up 575%.
In 2024, 15,000 people were homeless. 9,000 are families.
Cost? €361,000,000.
€40,111/family/year. €3,343pm
50% are homeless for over 1 year. 20% for over 2 years.
Median home price, €355,000.
Cost? 30 years at 3.0% - €1,496pm
€3,343pm clears that mortgage in 10 years.
We are spending more to keep people on the streets than in homes, with walls made of misery instead of brick. Build homes instead of excuses.
ESRI: "No new homes 'til 2027, lads!"
Targets now:
2025: 34,000
2026: 37,000
2027: 44,000
2028: 43,000
2029: 43,000
Central Bank: "We need 54,000/year for 25 years just to stand still."
Reality check: 93,000/year won't fix the backlog in a decade.
Talks of 100% mortgages - they will only raise prices. We built 93,000 homes and had 100% mortgages back in 2006... Same year they made Priory Hall.
The Irish government will make the entire country a "Rent Pressure Zone", negating the commonly understood meaning of the word Zone... Becoming "Rent Pressure".
They say these plans are to incentivise institutional investors... There are already incentives, such as:
* No Corporation Tax or CGT
* 24 month rent control reset
* HAP & HTB increasing prices
* RTB exemption for "Co-Living Spaces"
Meanwhile, in the last year prices are up 12.3%. Up 40% in the last 5 years - 100k for a median home.
€600k is the current price of a 3 bed semi-detached house in Dublin.
John and Mary (34 yo) need a minimum €60k deposit and must have a combined income of €135k - or €68k each - to purchase this home. Their mortgage is €540k.
With a BER rating of C, the most common for second hand homes, their interest rate is 3.2%.
Each month, for the next 30 years, they will pay €2,335.
It will take them 101 months (~8 ½ years) to start paying more principal than interest. They will be 42 years old
@devxvda Good thing they’re 34. If either were 44, they couldn’t even get that 30-year mortgage and would be paying that same amount every month on a €470k home. Ask me how I know :)
@aral At 44 with a 20 year term, same inputs, John and Mary will pay €3,050 per month. Fiadh is 10 when they draw down.
They are paying more principal than interest from the beginning.
Fiadh's €10k Confirmation money, 2 years into the mortgage, shaves 5 months off the term.
Fiadh asks why they didn't use the money to go on holiday like her friends. John quickly changes the subject.
@devxvda @aral things were bad when I got mine 8 years ago, since I was already over 40.
But it's only gotten harder.
I don't need young people to suffer to get a home (either affordable rent, or affordable buy) just because it was painful for me. I want them to have it easier. If that means I would "lose" money because my home depreciates, so be it, I didn't buy it as inversion.
Apparently I'm in a minority here.