Property bubble ‘could have been avoided’

IF banks had applied the same strict criteria as they do now in the boom years the property bubble could have been avoided.

This is according to the representative group for the country’s brokers, which has also predicted a hike in interest rates in the new year.

Chief executive of the Irish Brokers Association, Ciaran Phelan said: “It is likely that property prices will fall further in 2010 as supply continues to outstrip demand. How much further is impossible to tell and will differ depending on the location.