New wave of building to be welcomed

Over the past three years, property in the Irish economy has started to move out of the shadows of financial markets and into an era of transparency and better governance.

That is a progressive move which reflects maturing capital markets in Ireland. It may also contain the seeds to address the chronic housing shortage affecting the country.

I should start with a related fact. My employer acted as the stockbroker for one Irish property real estate investment trust (REIT) in the past two years and one house-builder to raise equity finance for their expansion plans. We raised large amounts of capital for them to invest in commercial property and housing across Ireland. This may colour your views on the argument set out below, although I strongly believe in its merits.