Mortgage approvals for first-time buyers rose to new heights in July, supported by government-backed initiatives such as Help to Buy. House prices increased 7.8% in the year to June, outpacing most workers' wages. Charities, councils and the Land Development Agency spent more than €600m this year bulk-buying over 1,400 homes, removing those properties from the open market. The number of children in emergency accommodation exceeded 5,000, and 16,058 people were homeless in the last full week of July. Bulk-buying will form part of plans to meet a 300,000-home target by 2030. State and foreign buying is reducing available supply and raising prices beyond many buyers' reach.
Those struggling to get a foot on the property ladder also face competition from another, unexpected quarter - the State itself, which is meant to be on their side. A study by the Sunday Independent this weekend reveals that charities, councils and the Land Development Agency have spent more than €600m so far this year alone bulk-buying more than 1,400 homes that as a result never came on the market.
It is imperative that the Government needs to increase supplies of social housing, with the latest figures showing that the number of children in emergency accommodation has reached another record high, meaning more than 5,000 face a new school year with no home of their own. Overall, 16,058 people were homeless in the last full week of July. Permanent, safe accommodation must be found for them.
Bulk-buying from developers to make houses available through cost-rental or affordable purchase schemes will inevitably form part of the strategy if the Government is to come close to its target of 300,000 new homes by 2030. It could even be argued that the €600m spent so far this year is a drop in the ocean compared with the €36bn allocated to housing under the new infrastructure spending plan over the next five years.
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