Only stoke property demand if you can fulfil it

Many statistics can be identified to demonstrate the remarkable collapse that occurred in the economy since 2007, but the property and construction sector provide the most vivid and frightening examples.

In the midst of absolute carnage in the sector, three statistics stand out. In the second quarter of 2007, 276,200 were employed in the construction sector on a seasonally adjusted basis; by the first quarter of 2013, this had fallen to just 96,900.

In 2006, the financial sector extended total mortgage loans of €39.9bn; this had fallen to €2.5bn by 2013. In 2006 the construction industry delivered 93,419 housing completions; in 2013, this had fallen to just 8,301.