26% drop in planned developments this year
Irish Homebuilders Association (IHBA) member's reported a 26% drop in planned developments this year and a further 13% drop for 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a 26% drop in planned developments this year according to a new survey of homebuilders.
Irish Homebuilders Association (IHBA) member's reported a 26% drop in planned developments this year and a further 13% drop for 2021, as well as an increase in the average delivery time of new homes.
“The delivery of homes is well behind where it needs to be,” according to James Benson, a spokesperson for the group.
"We have seen a noticeable drop in commencements which will gravely impact supply in the next 18 months."
“We need to see on average 36,000 homes built every year for the next twenty years across all tenure types from social, private and rental," he said.
The IHBA is calling for urgent action to be taken in Budget 2021 to address the challenges of affordability and supply of new homes.
In its pre-Budget submission, the IHBA has identified three measures to address the issue of affordability including a shared equity scheme, which would enable consumers on a combined income of €70,000 to access the market and a commitment to continue the Help to Buy Scheme.
They also want an increase in the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan cap to match the caps of the Shared Equity Scheme. Doubling current funding would provide opportunities for hard-pressed first-time buyers, the group claims.
To address the issue of supply, the IHBA has called for an extension of the Home Building Finance Ireland 'Momentum Fund' beyond Covid-19 until the end of 2021 as a minimum. It has also asked for greater access to development finance at rates competitive with the pillar bank and for the taxation of private landlords to be aligned with that of corporate landlords.
“The Programme for Government recognised the need to increase supply and improve the affordability of new homes. It also recognised the important role that private housing supply will play,” Mr Benson said.
“If the appropriate measures are introduced in Budget 2021 our members can deliver an additional 9,000 homes across a number of tenure types to the Irish market. Those additional homes alone would provide 1.04bn in revenues for the State” he said.
