Quotes of the Week

Week starting 05.01.2009

"We have got to get real as we lost the run of ourselves. Now Irish (house) prices have gone as low as they can go. They are now priced at cost." Owen O'Callaghan, Developer, Irish Independent, 08.01.2009

"As the financial crisis has bled into the real economy, its effects have had an impact on occupier markets in the past few months. Business and consumer confidence is at an all-time low and so the appetite for expansion and re-location going into 2009 is minimal. Greater competition for tenants in this climate will certainly put pressure on rental levels, as we’ve already seen in the office market." Patrick Koucheravy, Property Economist at CB Richard Ellis, 08.01.2009

"It all depends on the market. This in turn is down to confidence, investment and banking. On the housing side, affordability is improving and some banks are offering good packages especially for first time buyers following the falls in interest rates and the Government's tax reliefs." Martin Whelan, Public Affairs Director, CIF, Irish Independent, 06.01.2009

"Overall we anticipate that 2009 will, in football parlance, be a year of two halves, with a somewhat sluggish opening months replaced with a period of heightened activity and notable price stability. That said, there is no doubt that the year ahead will remain a challenging one for the economy." Marian Finnegan, Chief Economist, Sherry FitzGerald Group, 06.01.2009

"The Celtic Tiger may be dead and if the banking crisis continues I could be considered insolvent". Sean Dunne, Developer, The Irish Times, 05.01.2009

"Prices will fall until people feel more certain about the environment." David Duffy, ESRI, Sunday Independent, 04.01.2009

"The banks allowed their balance sheets to play tricks on them. As property prices rose, the underlying collateral, which underpinned their property lending, became progressively debased. It is this very fragility of collateral that is now hammering them. The fragile collateral, which up until the top of the cycle was driving profits, is now the hazardous waste that is driving up losses." David McWilliams, Economist, Sunday Business Post, 04.01.2009