Rental sector a ‘release valve’ for the housing crisis, says Cairn Homes chief

CAIRN Homes chief executive Michael Stanley has said that first-time home buyers will continue to be the company’s “core business”, notwithstanding the rapid rise of the market for Build-to-Rent apartments in Dublin.

Commenting on the increasing number of sales of entire residential schemes to institutional investors, Mr Stanley described the BTR – or private rented sector (PRS) as it is also known – as “the release valve for the moment” of the imbalance between the supply and demand for housing.

The Cairn Homes chief acknowledged, however, the role that the PRS sector is set to play in Dublin in the long term.

He said: “We’re starting to see some of the longer-hold money coming into Ireland which is very positive, because they [institutional investors] are likely to be 15, 20 or 30-year holders of these buildings.”

Mr Stanley was speaking to reporters following the publication yesterday of Cairn Homes’ results for 2018.

In a reflection of the housing market’s ongoing recovery, the company recorded revenue of €337m for the 12-month period to the end of last December – an increase of 125pc on the €149m it recorded in 2017. Cairn closed the sale of 804 new homes in 2018 compared to 418 in 2017.

Average sale prices rose to €366,000 from €315,000 in 2017.