Quotes of the week

“There is therefore likely to be an avalanche of new cases over the remainder of this year and next as we work through the recession. But we are now going through a recession of historic proportions. Many, if not most, borrowers are not to blame for their arrears“No-one gains from rows of empty shuttered houses. Patently, if the house is not going to sell, the order sought will not benefit either party. New market conditions demand new legal solutions.” Edmund Honohan, the master of the High Court.

“The agricultural land market has been propped up over the last 5 years by farmers and land owners who were replacing land as a result of development sales. So we believe that 2009 is likely to see further erosion in agricultural land values as there can be little doubt that the current crisis in development land will have a further knock-on affect on agricultural land values over the next couple of years”. Robert Ganly, Knight Frank.

“The number of properties that were on the market, but vendors withdrew, has increased by 46 per cent in January. In some cases, because interest rates have dropped, peoples’ holding costs have halved. Maybe people are happier to hold on to property now that pressure has eased.” Sherry FitzGerald MD Michael Grehan.

"Also required is a more timely data series tracking house price movements. While the PTSB/ESRI index is widely acknowledged as the most comprehensive price survey in Ireland, the lagging nature of the index means it is confusing for buyers during periods when property market cycles turn." Conor Gallagher, Douglas Newman Good.

"While the contraction in the investment area of the Irish economy has now firmly spread to all other sectors, the correction in construction activity, the instigator of the recession, shows little sign of easing," Goodbody economist Deirdre Ryan.

‘‘Based on the level of enquiries we’ve had, we expect to sell a good number of units but not all this weekend. I think the sales will happen over the next few weeks. From the huge number of phone calls we’ve received, it would appear people are responding to lower prices.” Ken MacDonald of Hooke & MacDonald.