In the Irish Times, Isabel Morton echoes some thoughts that I also have, that the property market represents a good opportunity at present, there are considerations though – namely to look for non-apartment second hand properties within the M50.

Last night I got to help launch the ‘Irish Property Buyer’s Handbook 2012‘, the second edition which was written by Carol Tallon [disclosure: the lowlight is my chapter on mortgages]. Minister of State for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan was the guest of honour. It went well, and I think the book will be a success amongst prospective buyers because it really is a great piece of work on the practical aspects of buying property.

Phil Hogan is looking for some new thoughts on how to avoid a repeat of Priory Hall, the idea being ‘compulsory certificates‘ by architects. This seems like a great idea in soundbite format, beyond that it will be tricky to implement, oversee and enforce, it will also drive up development costs.

NAMA mortgages are in the headlines again, the scheme is accused of placing a floor on the market, personally I don’t think it has the scope to do that given that the general market is so much larger than the offering. What I don’t understand is the internal workings of a cashflow on 90% of a price but the loan being only on 70%, there is obviously some kind of stooze in operation (haven’t bothered to do the figures yet).

When I do they’ll be posted!