Quotes of the Week

"Building a basic house should be no more complex or expensive than this. Unfortunately, a lot of vested interests ensure that it is. Governments, banks and employers all benefit from having a society yoked under mortgages – it ensures control, compliance and vast profits through taxes and interest payments. Now might be a time to reconsider all this. A house should, and can, cost the price of a car – something you repay over a year or two, instead of your life." (Manchan Magan, in the Irish Times)

“This is a first and important step in the overdue process of bringing the buying and selling of properties here into the 21st century,” says Kevin O’Higgins, the president of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association. (Irish Times.)

Commenting on the permanet tsb/ESRI House Price Index results for February, Niall O’Grady, General Manager Business Strategy, permanent tsb said “while affordability is improving for customers due to the series of rate reductions and two consecutive years of reductions in house prices, customers seem unconvinced that the market has bottomed out yet.”

"Auctions are the best way of gauging the market and when a property like this sells at €1.6m, it indicates we are at or close to the bottom of the market." (Yvonne Hogan, Property Editor at Independent)