House sales fall as high prices scare off buyers
HOUSE sales are falling amid fears many owners are now demanding too much for their property, beyond the reach of ordinary families.
Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show a 4.9pc drop in home sales in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year.
The figures are based on stamp duty executions, meaning the sales have completed. In Dublin, sales are now up by 1.2pc – largely because of where new supply is being built.
But the number of houses sold has fallen in Cork by a significant 12.5pc and in Galway by 9.7pc.
The slowdown suggests systemic problems in the market as buyers struggle to get mortgage approval, delays with conveyancing and some owners refusing to sell at prices the market can afford.
The figures come as it is revealed more than one in 20 families are living in overcrowded conditions, a 35pc rise in a decade. New Census data shows 95,013 households are in a property with more people than rooms.
OVERCROWDING is, to a large degree, the hidden side of the housing crisis. Families living in homes with more people than rooms don’t really feature in the political debate around rising rents. Nor do they loom large when the Government is criticised for a lack of new and second-hand homes coming on stream for social, private and affordable purchase or rent.
But as the Census data shows, there are more than 95,000 households living in an overcrowded dwelling. They form a growing number of victims of this emergency which shows no signs of being resolved any time soon. The numbers are stark, but those affected are largely nameless. There are a number of reasons for this, chiefly a concern that anyone who speaks out will be evicted from the only place they have to call a home.
Some believe there’s a stigma attached to not being able to provide suitable accommodation for themselves and their families. There’s not. The mark of disgrace does not rest upon a person or couple doing their best but who is priced out of a sector. It lies upon the State which cannot provide basic and adequate shelter for its citizens at an affordable price.
Overcrowding affects all household and family types.
There are adults, sometimes with children of their own, living with their parents, three generations living under the same roof.
There are families renting the best place they can for their budget, which is often too small for their needs.
There are also those who bought a property a number of years ago, which at the time was more than suitable for their needs, but changing circumstances mean it is no longer adequate.
They are the couples who purchased a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen/sitting room. Two people in a twobed dwelling are not living in overcrowded accommodation. But if a child comes, there are now more people than rooms, so they fall into this cohort.
Even if they could afford to move – something out of reach for many – there’s nothing to be bought within their price range.
And not to forget low-paid workers effectively forced to live in dormitory-style accommodation, highlighted so vividly by RTE’s ‘Prime Time’ last November, which saw one house in Dublin inhabited by dozens of residents.
There are consequences. There is stress from living in close proximity to so many people. A child trying to do their homework will battle to find a quiet corner. The prospect of family or friends coming to stay is unlikely. There are fire safety risks.
We all know how difficult it is to secure a home in the rental market, so many are forced to wait and hope that more supply becomes available at a price they can afford.
We know from the Census data that while the national average overcrowding rate is 5.7pc of all households, the rate is higher in 102 of the 200 settlements analysed. We also know overcrowding rates have risen in most areas.
The State cannot provide basic shelter at price citizens can afford
The problem is particularly acute in the cities. In Dublin, 36,770 households are overcrowded, 8.7pc of all households in the city. This represents a 49pc rise in just over a decade.
In Waterford, numbers rose by 45pc and by 42.3pc in Cork. In Galway, there were 34.6pc more people in overcrowded accommodation in 2016 compared with a decade previously, while the number increased by 28pc in Limerick.
The provincial breakdown tells a story too.
In Connacht, where the housing crisis is less pronounced, particularly outside of Galway city and surrounding areas, just eight areas from the 27 analysed had overcrowding rates above the national average – roughly one-third of all settlements.
The ratio is broadly similar in Munster (19 above the average from a total of 59), and in Ulster too, where seven of 19 areas analysed had above-average rates.
It’s very different in Leinster. From 94 settlements in the province, overcrowding rates were above-average in 68 – more than 70pc.
The Government’s Rebuilding Ireland housing strategy aims to boost output of social, affordable and private homes for purchase and rent.
Output is on the rise, with the latest CSO figures showing that 7,909 new homes were completed in the first half of 2018, compared with 6,070 in the same period of 2017.
More social units are being delivered, but there are few ‘affordable’ dwellings in the cities, where overcrowding is most acute.
There is little or no progress in bringing vacant stock back into use, or utilising disused space above shops as homes.
There is no shortage of policy, but not enough progress in tackling overcrowding, rising rents, increasing house prices and growing homeless numbers.
That means little prospect for the almost-100,000 households stuck living in an overcrowded home of finding anything better anytime soon.