We were asked to take part in an interview on Primetime about house prices and whether or not they were starting to show signs of falling. Our view is that they will fall in time (probably in a damaging way) but that it won’t be soon because supply is still above demand and price indicators like rents are still rising. This is damaging for first time buyers and those stuck paying high rents.
We were pleased to take part in a debate about property tax on Primetime this week. The main point we would hope to make is that property tax based on market values should naturally rise when prices rise the same as income tax paid increases as income goes up, this is the logical conclusion in our view. Some people don’t want it to go up even after it was artificially frozen for political reasons several years ago, we see this for what it is, electioneering and populism. Strong municipal and local government need this funding and should be allowed to decide the sums for themselves, keeping it artificially low only creates a different set of problems in the future.
We were asked to speak to PrimeTime about the state of the Irish property market and whether or not the resolutions are going to work and if the Government knew the problems we now have were going to occur.
Tanya Sillem of PrimeTime looked at the rental market and how many people are facing difficult increases in rental prices. Lorcan Sirr of DIT commented as did Threshold.
A key focus was the story of one Dublin mother of three who lost her home when faced with a large increase in rental cost, in our mind this highlights bad housing policy and an absence of supply of suitable accommodation.
We took part in a studio debate on PrimeTime with Claire Byrne about rent control. In favour there was Labour Senator and Chairperson of Threshold, Aideen Hayden, from our firm there was Karl Deeter. It was a reasoned debate that pointed out several arguments both for and against.
Primetime RTE, 5th April 2011- on Tax Relief for Mortgages from Irish Mortgage Brokers on Vimeo.
We were delighted to take part in the studio portion of Primetime on Tuesday the 5th of April, covering housing and the problems of the indebted, the package beforehand was presented by Donogh Diamond while Richard Crowley was in charge of the studio section. The guests were Brian Hayes (FG), Michael McGrath (FF) and Karl Deeter of our own firm.
RTE Primetime – Anglo, Banks, and the cost of the Bailout. 30th November 2010 from Irish Mortgage Brokers on Vimeo.
We were delighted to get featured in a package by Ian Kehoe of Primetime on the cost of the bank bailout to people working in banks as well as to the state and consumers.
Primetime RTE 1, 18th November 2010, On mortgage arrears and debt writedowns from Irish Mortgage Brokers on Vimeo.
We were delighted to appear in studio with Miriam O’Callaghan and Jim Power of Friends First on the topic of mortgage arrears and the prospects of a write-down plan.
We were delighted to appear on RTE’s Primetime with Miriam O’Callaghan, whe I converted the video the sync went weird so you can find the original here.
Primetime looked at the property market news of a 40% drop in prices from peak to date and after the package piece they had an ‘in studio’ piece. The debate centred around property and mortgages as well as some of the issues regarding negative equity.