Quotes of the Week

"As we can all see, Dublin, Cork, Galway and other places have developed out of control. As our city centre populations decline, the suburbs sprawl. Even now we have the fastest growing population in Europe and space is running out in our cities. The fundamental problem is that we have been building in the wrong way -- at too low a density and with a lack of concern for the required infrastructure/facilities -- with the shortsighted view that it is the commodity of the house that matters, to the detriment of developing sustainable new communities... Many of our suburban housing estates are big cul-de-sacs, leading nowhere and laid out to suit cars". Most of suburbia is single tenure and single use, with a common household size. It can, indeed be a "place of isolation, being boring, monocultural, and lacking a sense of community. To undo this legacy will be nigh on impossible, although the upcoming rise in energy and transport costs may be a suitable catalyst for serious change when the economy allows," he concludes. The stakes are massive, our responsibilities are huge. Will we be known as the generation that squandered the opportunities or the one that created an enlarged cohesive and fair society for our children and theirs?" (Architect Sean Harrington comments in a new RIAI publication entitled The New Housing 2)

"But blaming estate agents is utterly pointless. They are sales people. They sell property. Some are very knowledgeable on their subject and are extremely good negotiators and others are useless at their job. But, at the end of the day, their job is just to sell property. They are not paid to worry about whether or not the buyers will eventually sell on the property again at a profit or a loss. In the same way as estate agents were not responsible (nor congratulated) for the huge profits people made on property investments during the “good old days” they can hardly be blamed now for “putting people into negative equity”."(Isobel Morton in The Irish Times reacting to Derek Brawn's performance on the Late Late Show)

"The signs are that buyers are prepared to move where they perceive real value. The next step for the market will be to get transparency on prices. With legislation currently being pushed through to activate the National Property Services Regulatory Authority, auctioneers can only hope that one of its first moves will be to demand that property prices to be recorded and put into the public domain." (Orna Mulcahy, The Irish Times)

"When we made our offer, we thought the agent was bluffing: there couldn’t be another offer, surely. Who the hell would have money in this day and age? There was indeed another offer, pure and simple. We were just too mistrusting and nervous as hell to realise that, so didn’t get it. Hardball game over. We also made the rookie mistake of having our heads filled to the brim with tales of tricky estate agents looking to squeeze a few extra shekels out of gullible buyers, regardless of inconveniences like telling the truth. You end up parsing each phrase with more care than a diplomat in the Middle East. Well, that one we misread. Estate agents are honest. Damn." (Don Morgan, The Irish Times)

“Current negotiations fall into two categories in our offices in Blessing ton and Baltinglas, offers well below reserve on properties that are on the market for some time and good offers for property that are not yet on the market but identified buyers have an opportunity to buy”. (Simon Murphy of Murphy Real Estate Alliance in Blessington and Baltinglass)