The news that house prices have risen by 14% last year is a damming indication of government failure. A generation of young people will be locked into a high rent system for most of their lives.
The average price for a house in Dublin has now reached €506,667 – compared with a national sales figure of €326,457 last year. First time buyers need a deposit of €130,00 to enter the market. That makes it impossible for the vast majority.
Even if they do so, they will be charged a mortgage interest rate that is double the eurozone average. They will be ripped off for bank profits.
No wonder that Ireland now has the highest number of young people who are forced to live with their parents.
The government’s excuse that it is waiting on ‘supply’ to increase is no longer tenable.
It is time for the state to intervene directly and build housing on public land. This can be a mix of social and affordable homes. Affordable homes should only be sold back to the state itself. The government should also instruct banks to lend mortgages at the current eurozone interest rate.
There is an alternative but only if we remove the market fundamentalists from office.