Quotes of the Week

Week starting 17.11.2008

"There are people (investors) in the dressing room limbering up. While it will be difficult for the remainder of the year and into January we may see some transactions again in February or March." John Moran, incoming Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle, Irish Independent, 20.11.2008

"This is something which is likely to spread to other lenders and will have a massive impact on the mortgage market." Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers, on KBC Homeloans saying it would now only provide mortgages for 80pc of the value of homes, Irish Independent, 19.11.2008

"If our housing boom-and-bust cycle is comparable to our European neighbours, then we can expect it to take a minimum of 3-5 years for the market to recover." Dr. Stephen Kinsella, University of Limerick, Daft Rental Report Q3 2008, 18.11.2008

"It is important to keep things in perspective. The 'irrational exuberance' of the eighteen months before the summer of 2007 was a serious aberration in terms of the longer term development of a sustainable housing market. The market is currently undergoing a significant correction." Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s Head of Research, Joe Frey, 18.11.2008

"The amount of effort and skill it takes to sell a property now makes more demand on the agent, so fees will creep up somewhat. But they will still have to be manageable for the seller to afford." Fintan McNamara, IPAV, Sunday Business Post, 16.11.2008

"People have to see that developers are down to their bottom line now....If the banks pass on this half per cent cut in interest rates, things might change, but a lot of developers are just about keeping their heads above water now." Brian Byrne, of Wexford firm Cleary Doyle, Sunday Business Post, 16.11.2008

"Given the extremely sharp contraction in residential construction, these figures show the existing stock of unsold houses could clear quickly, once impasses in mortgage lending are addressed and confidence among prospective house buyers returns." Martin Whelan, communications director of CIF, on the Homebond figures for unsold new homes, Sunday Business Post, 16.11.2008