Skyrocketing Inheritance Taxes due to Increasing Property Prices

The exchequer reported an all time high collection from the inheritance tax which is one component in the capital acquisition tax (CAT). The amount recorded that was collected amounts to €466.3 million. The increase in revenue from the inheritance tax is due to increasing property prices and unchanged tax free thresholds. The revenue figure of inheritance tax collected depicts an increase in revenue by 10% in comparison to the collections in 2017. Inheritance tax collections comparatively increased by 48% in comparison to the Celtic Tiger era in 2007. This dramatic increase across the span of 10 years is due to the rising housing costs.

Over half of the inheritance tax was paid on the behalf of grandchildren, nieces and nephews who inherited upwards of €32,500 from relatives in 2018. The rapid growth in inheritance tax collection is due to another year of increasing property prices. Furthermore, the increase is due to the controversial unchanged tax free thresholds. Many people argue that these thresholds should be immensely increased. The tax free threshold for inheritances left to children was at its highest in …

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Medici Living Group Targeting Dublin for Co-Living Scheme

Eoghan Murphy’s amendment to allow for co-living has drawn a lot of attention from international developers. It has opened the door for cheaper complexes to be built in and around Dublin.

Germany’s Medici Living Group, known as one of the biggest co-living providers internationally, proposed a plan to bring more than 5,000 new beds to Dublin. Luxembourg-based, Corestate Capital, is backing Medici Living Group approximately 1 billion Euros for building co-living accommodations throughout Europe.

A statement regarding why Medici Living Group wants to expand to Ireland, states, “As Ireland is a growing, forward-looking country with a tech hub, we can see our members and future members would be interested in living there.” In addition, they are targeting easy-to-access, high standard affordable accommodation in the city center, which is hard to currently get.

Specific locations that Medici is targeting within Ireland includes; Rathmines, College Green, Ballsbridge, Liberties, North Wall, Portobello, and the Docklands.

A spokesperson for Medici Living Group stated, “As Ireland is a growing, dynamic, forward-looking and innovative country with a tech hub (Dublin) and at the centre of Europe, …

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Residential property prices rise across Ireland

Within the last 7 years there has been an upward trend for residential property pricing. So far, 2019 has continued to follow this trend, showing significant national growth each month; Dublin seems to stay at or above par in comparison to national average prices.  

Although this trend has been upwards, Ireland is still yet to reach the price levels that they had sustained in 2007. The current residential property prices in Dublin still falls at 22.5% lower than the highest period during the early 2000s, while the national values are 18.5% lower.

In 2018, the prices rose a total of 13.3% throughout the year, giving many sellers hope that the trend would continue forward into the following year. From February to March 2019, the prices increased 3.8%. March to April there was a 3.1% increase, which shows a smaller amount of increase, but it is still far from slowing down.

Dublin increased residential prices by 0.5%, leaving house prices and apartment rents increasing by the same 2.2% as the previous month.

It seems that Dublin and …

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Renting vs. Buying

A current issue revolving around Irish news is whether to increase the supply of rental or property ownership. It is well known that there is a shortage in properties available, but just trying to produce as many properties as possible is not the solution. Careful review of the issue needs to take place by the government and necessary legislation would follow. Some factors to consider include; land zoning, shared ownership purchase models, tax breaks for EU nationals arriving for construction work, reduced CGT for empty sites, tax reduction for citizens downsizing, and help-to-buy schemes.

First time home buyers are having trouble purchasing homes due to the increasing purchase prices. It is universally agreed upon that more properties need to be available. According to an independent article, 2500 houses that were built in the first three months have not been sold yet. In addition, this is driving up decisions. That coupled with difficult mortgage banking is challenging middle- and lower-class citizens to find accommodation. These statements emphasize the lack of availability and ease for purchasing affordable housing.

Build-to-rent schemes have the …

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Government denies the warning signs of Cuckoo Funds

Cuckoo Funds has been recently used to describe big investors investments poured into developing build to rent housing. However, on average the developments funded by cuckoo funds are not affordable for the average individual or family. Some of the main investors that comprise of the cuckoo funds are large institutional investors like pension funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and special private rental firms. Investors are increasingly interested in attempting to tap into the growing demand for Irelands rental market.

Cuckoo funds are known for buying properties and charging insanely high and unaffordable prices for the properties. However, the Housing Minister Murphy has denied that housing is unaffordable. Murphy continued to argue and defend the government’s record on housing and claimed that the government has protected renters.

However, individuals have accused the government of ignoring the red flags of activities related to cuckoo funds. Multi-national venture funds have been able to sweep up properties and resell them for immense costs. Cuckoo funds have created 3,000 new housing units in 2018.

The government has not yet claimed to see the dangers …

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UN Sent Irish Government a Letter on Housing Crisis

The Irish government received a letter in March from the UN rapporteur, Leilani Farha, stating that, “housing in Ireland is moderately unaffordable.” The UN was using this letter as a wakeup call to the Irish government and made some very serious allegations. One of the allegations that the letter made was, “house prices are now approaching levels last seen at the height of the property bubble.” This statement relives a terrible time in the history of Ireland. The Irish government responded by saying that average households only spend one-fifth of their income on housing costs but acknowledged some prominent issues that need to be improved.

A couple of the top problems stated in the letter related to land hoarding and equity landlords. First, land hoarding occurs when investors will purposefully sit on a property to increase demand and lower supply in the area before selling/renting. This is causing major problems for citizens that are struggling to keep up with the increasing prices. The other problem is landlords, “have openly discussed policies of introducing the highest rents possible in order to …

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Single Parents and Migrants at Greatest Risk for Homelessness According to New Report

If you identify as either a lone parent, migrant, or a member of a traveling community then you are at greater risk of homelessness according to Focus Ireland. Focus Ireland conducted a report examining the drivers of family homelessness in Dublin. The overarching idea was many families are being evicted from private rental properties and unable to find another place to live causing homelessness. Many of these families have a long history with residing in the same apartment and should not be threatened with homelessness due to the rising property prices and shortage of availability.

Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy at Focus Ireland, appeared on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland to discuss his companies recent report. He was quoted saying, “the vast majority of the families surveyed had been living in the private rental sector without any problem until the crisis came along.”  Mike Allen has witnessed an increase in many property owners exiting the rental market especially those that are offering more affordable properties to rent. This is one of the many reasons contributing to the growing numbers of homelessness in …

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Dublin’s Housing Prices are Growing Faster than Income

A new report released by credit analysts from Moody’s states that Dublin house prices have grown approximately nine times the rate that employees’ wages have grown in the last six years. This is adding to the housing market difficulties causing many native Dubliners to either move or live on the streets. Many factors can be credited to the rising house prices including; the rise of multinational cooperation’s settling in Dublin coupled with the rapidly growing population. The Moody’s report concluded that Dublin’s population has grown by 21% since 2000 which, makes it the fasted growing city of all European capitals.

It ultimately comes down to the shortages of properties available in Dublin that are driving up the demand for housing, while the supplies stay consistent. Moody’s Investor service released a ranking for the European cities that its inhabitants can least afford to buy a home. Dublin was among the group of cities distinguished for being a hard and expensive city to find housing among many European countries. Additionally, the price to pay ratio for Dublin that determines how much money …

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IHREC Upset Over Eoghan Murphy

Homelessness is increasing drastically throughout Ireland due to the rising property prices and shortage of available properties for sale or rent. Homelessness numbers reached 10,378 people at the end of April with almost 40 percent being children. In response the government has initiated some new programs and taken action into building social housing. Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, has claimed that his new Rebuilding Ireland Program has been working well since he implemented it.

Has Eoghan Murphy spent enough time and effort solving homelessness?

Emily Logan, Head of the Human Rights Body for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), would say otherwise. The IHREC accused the government of blaming this crisis as, “the by-product of market dynamics, or the price our society pays for progress.” Part of the housing shortage and rise in homelessness can be contributed to market problems, but the government needs to step up and take more action into drafting policies that would make a significant difference. The IHREC is very blunt when it comes to pointing the finger, they stated that the rising level of …

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Dart and Luas location spikes home prices

Location has always played a substantial role in the pricing of property, especially in major cities. Comparing prices of rent or total purchasing price of business, commercial and residential properties, it seems that this is a common trend across the world.

In Dublin, this also reigns true. New research from Daft.ie has shown that if you are a renter located near the Dart or Luas, your rent can be up to 12% higher than that of those a bit further from these modes of transportation, with Luas red line stops topping the charts. Rent in Dublin has averaged €2,000 per month in 2019, while more conveniently located renters paid a premium of up to €3,500 per month.

On the coast, there is also an influx in prices due to its prime location from some of Dublin’s quickest modes of transportation. This is not unwarranted though, given that the Luas and Dart decrease travel time significantly. Time is very valuable, especially for commuters into or a bit outside of the city.

As a student at UCD this summer, …

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