THE NEW president of the Irish Auctioneers' and Valuers' Institute (IAVI) told members at its agm yesterday that the property market has undergone a correction that will prove to be "a short-term blip."
Edward Carey told members that this 10 per cent correction has brought prices back to end of 2005 levels and said "allegations of a property crash" should be taken in context against huge cumulative increases since the early 1970s until the market slowdown in March last year. He quoted increases of 3,175 per cent for second-hand home since 1974 and 4,800 per cent for new homes since 1970.
Saying that vendors have to "adjust expectations" when it comes to asking price, he said they were still seeing a good return if they bought up to three years ago. "Anyone who bought a house two years ago is OK. Anyone who bought a house last year and doesn't need to sell is OK. Those who bought recently on a 100 per cent mortgage who now need to sell face a problem, but they are few in number. I feel for them, but they are just one subset of homeowners, and their current distress does not amount to a national property panic," he said.
Commenting on the "changed business climate" in which estate agents now operate he said the market would sort out trained professionals for whom property is a career "and those who perceived the boom as a way to make a fast buck." He called on estate agents to ensure staff are "imbued with a sense of customer service" and said agents need to rediscover "the win-win philosophy that brought success before the boom years."
He urged the incoming minister for finance to go further than the stamp duty amendments made in the current Budget and adjust transfer taxes, "which represent an impediment to mobility and the efficient use of property stock".
He welcomed the inclusion of the Bill to establish the national property services authority in legislation in the current Dáil session.
