Why are investment funds buying up Irish Property?

Large-scale private rented sector (PRS) investors, sometimes called vulture or cuckoo funds, have rapidly become a major force in the Irish property market over the last few years.

As recently as 2017, these funds were a minor and insignificant part of the housing market. However, these firms have spent more than €6 billion buying Irish homes, apartment buildings, and commercial properties over the last three and a half years.

The cuckoo funds show no sign of slowing down in 2021, as they have spent €1.5 billion so far this year, according to recent figures from estate agents and property adviser JLL. Most of these funds are backed by international investors, and have quickly become big players in the market, particularly investing in deals for new apartments in Dublin.

But what is driving this relatively new and rapidly growing force in the market?

Analysts say that an influx of cash in European markets, lack of yields in traditional assets including bonds, and the huge surge in housing demand and high rent prices in Ireland have combined to create a very lucrative …

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What are the Issues Affecting Fin-tech Companies?

As compared to other lenders in Ireland, fin-tech lenders process mortgage applications almost two times faster. This means that it has highly improved the efficiency of financial inter-meditation in the Irish mortgage market. Despite this being the case, there are three major challenges faced by fin-tech firms in Ireland.

Innovation

As the innovation and trends of financial products face constant disruption, companies that are affected by need to constantly adopt new trends. With an increase in new technology in the market, banks are struggling to keep up. Trends like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are being integrated in system personalization, wealth management and banking systems. This makes almost impossible for banks to balance their employees with technology since they experience problems as they try to keep up with trends.

Building and Maintaining Trust with Customers

For payment applications, mobile banking, and fin-tech as a whole, security is one of the biggest concerns. Unlike traditional banks that have bulletproof doors, heavy vaults, CCTV cameras, and security guards to guarantee the safety of the assets, fin-tech companies …

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How will Payments Change After the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The Covid-19 pandemics has taught many businesses, financial institutions, and companies that digital platforms and technology can be well utilized for cashless transactions. Restrict movement and lockdown in some cities have hindered customers flocking into the street to buy stuff or eat-in restaurant, prompting many businesses to opt for online and E-commerce platforms to stay afloat.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital capacity, which has served as an additional catalyst in an already fast-changing payment industry. We are confident that this new reality will persist and only progress. Following the pandemic, some experts were asked to report any trends, and the following are some forms of payment that have come up due to the pandemic;

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

BNPL’s name is pretty self-explanatory. During the pandemic, it is widely regarded as the most developing payment option. Customers can purchase items through BNPL before paying for them. Although it has been a massive success in recent years, many people have criticized this payment method. This method of payment is unlikely to go away completely. However, as …

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Why are Property Prices on the Irish Coasts Rising?

According to research, properties along the Irish coast have increased in value since the pandemic hit demand, with sea properties outperforming pre-covid times by a large margin. The reports also show that property values are now 23 percent higher than the national average growth in the same period before the Covid-19 Pandemic, which was only 8.7 percent. These coastal zones stretch from Carlingford and Rosslare on the east coast to Renvyle and Dunfanaghy on the west coast.

According to a property report on the Daft website, it shows that the prices of coastal properties have risen since the onset of the pandemic, echoing a few anecdotes. One reason for the increase is that popular coastal properties demanded a premium over properties in other parts of the country. The report explains why the price of a home with a view of the sea is rapidly increasing, as some people are retreating from city life with remote operating standards for many after extended city shutdowns.

The website (Daft.ie) focused on some well-known coastal areas, listings related to the price register, in …

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What Role Does the Government Play in Mortgage and Housing in Ireland?

In every country worldwide, government involvement in housing and mortgage is vital as they control and monitor housing projects and interest rates that come with mortgage finances. In Ireland, the government has not been left out; they have been involved in all areas pertaining to housing and mortgages. This includes: –

Giving oversight of the housing and mortgage sector. The Irish government has been involved in real estate is regulating the interest rates and mortgages. As banks try to make money, the Irish government oversees the mortgages and housing finances, and this helps Irish citizens not to be exploited by both the brokers and lenders. It provides grants and loans. The Irish government offers incentives and grants in times of economic collapse, which has proven vital in helping to control the housing sector in Ireland. For instance, in the 1990s, when there was a financial bubble in Ireland, the government put commitment to expanding home ownership to encourage people to buy houses. Creating policies. The government’s involvement in the domestic mortgage market can take many forms. This includes social …

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Why Are Banks Not Lending Mortgages?

Getting a mortgage over the recent year has proven to a high hill task; more recently is the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the world economy in different ways. In Ireland, the mortgage market has been on-demand as properties price has been increasing over a fortnight ago. Research from central banks has shown that many banks have reduced the rate of mortgages despite the high prices of properties, especially in cities and coastal regions of Ireland. The big question that many ask is: why are few or no banks giving out mortgage loans?

Many banks have feared giving out loans because of many reasons about economic stability. Moreover, different types of loans are now more challenging to obtain due to the pandemic’s economic and employment effects, as the mortgage market has been severely harmed. As the prices of properties continue to surge, many banks are opting away from giving out mortgage loans because of the following: –

Economy meltdown or recession. The lockdown demonstrates that Irish banks still have a large number of credits on their books due to …

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6 Major Steps to ensure your Cryptocurrency is Secure

An increasing number of home buyers in Ireland are investing in cryptocurrencies as a means of getting into the lucrative property market. As you shift to digital currency, it is important to understand how to protect it since there is a lingering and never-ending threat to your cryptocurrency. There are 6 major steps that you need to take to ensure that your cryptocurrency is secure.

Use strong passwords

Of course, this is the easiest and the best way to protect your cryptocurrency. You need to ensure that your password is strong and unique so that malicious individuals can have a hard tine as they try to guess it. Additionally, you need to change the password regularly since it is a good practice to protect the currency. Moreover, it is important to use different passwords for each account since if one account is hacked, it will be highly impossible to hack the other.

Use cold wallets

The digital wallet used to store the cryptocurrency can either be a cold wallet or a hot wallet. A hot wallet is …

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Will Ireland’s mortgage rates fall or rise after the pandemic?

Ireland’s high-interest rates have long been an issue. Although some financial and legal concerns will ensure that they remain above average, overall interest rates may and should be reduced. New and existing borrowers might save thousands of dollars in interest payments throughout their mortgage. This is especially true for existing borrowers who are already paying interest rates of 3 to 3.5 percent. Many people may convert to rates closer to 2%, saving them a lot of money throughout their loan. According to Brokers Ireland, Irish mortgage holders now pay more than twice what most of their competitors do.

The NTMA increased its borrowings for Ireland at negative interest rates for seven and ten years, keeping interest rates on international markets at historic lows. Still, borrowing costs in Ireland are always in line with those in the rest of the EU; mortgage rates are still generally low. Because of the present recession, interest rates have been maintained low. But how long can it go on? Is this a paradigm shift for us?

The following are the most crucial points: Maintain …

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Promote housing, tax it appropriately and spend that money on making more housing

When you talk about being in favour of ‘more property tax’ you quickly lose the room, but what if we had less income tax and more tax on immovable assets? This is a targeted wealth tax given the way that property and wealth are intertwined, it also means those with the most valuable homes would contribute more and could encourage down-sizing too which would help free up chronically under-occupied housing stock.

This can be an emotive topic, we understand that, but so is the plight of young people facing a market that isn’t affordable and a housing shortage that is driving prices to dangerous levels.

Listen to the full clip here.

 

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Why Supporting Irish-owned business will be a key to pandemic recovery

As Ireland continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, its entrepreneurs and family owned businesses will play a huge role in the jobs-led recovery of the economy. The resilience of Irish businesses over the past year and a half has been remarkable, dealing with the challenges of both Brexit and the pandemic while continuing to innovate and make new strides in sustainability and digital transformation. Currently, the Government is targeting a eight to ten percent unemployment rate for next year, down from the current 22 percent rate. It also wants to see 2.4 million in unemployment by 2024, which is significantly higher than pre pandemic levels. KPMG tax partner Olivia Lynch believes that Irelands entrepreneurs, family owned businesses, and small business will be crucial in helping the Irish economy to recover and meet these goals. Lynch also leads KPMG’s private enterprise sector and believes that the Government is aware of the need to support these types of businesses moving forward.

Small businesses and entrepreneurships are a critical part of the backbone of Ireland’s society and economy. Lynch says “There …

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