‘Housing market support must focus on supply’

The focus of government support for the housing market should be on helping increase the supply of units rather than artificially boosting demand among first-time buyers, according to Conall MacCoille of Davy Stockbrokers.

Mr MacCoille, speaking at the publication of the latest Irish Banking Federation’s Housing Market Monitor, said there were signs of recovery in the housing market, but the sector still faced many challenges.

The Housing Market Monitor, which covers the first three months of the year, found that there had been a 29.3% increase in the level of mortgage approvals and a 65.6% increase in the levels of drawdowns, albeit from low levels.