House builders today attempted to instil confidence in the falling market claiming more units than forecast would be completed this year.

The Minister for Finance has announced that houses with a value of less than €1m will be subject to stamp duty of 7 %, with no tax payable on the first 125,000.

THE Irish Home Builders’ Association (IHBA) has rejected UCD academic Morgan Kelly’s report on the Irish housing market in the ESRI Quarterly Economic Commentary (Summer 2007) as inaccurate and questioned the research basis for the report’s findings.

The Irish Home Builders’ Association (IHBA) has today pointed to favourable economic and demographic factors as the key drivers of strong demand for housing in the medium and long-term.

DEVELOPERS have agreed to axe the controversial stage-payment method of house-buying from June.

The number of house completions for the first 10 months of 2006 has risen 20.6%.

TWO sets of figures were released yesterday that show a buoyant building industry is facing difficult times with a significant fall-off in the number of planning permissions being granted for new houses.

HOUSE prices are set to rise again after the ESB got approval for a 67% increase in charges for first-time connections to the electricity network.

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche yesterday pledged the State would deliver more affordable homes of high quality and do so at "a faster pace" than before.

John Breslin

PEOPLE are leaving banking and stressful white collar occupations to take up well-paid crafts jobs in the construction sector, a conference has heard.

The number of houses being constructed in Ireland will reach new records this year, according to a group representing the building trade.

MORE than 500,000 houses will have to be built in the next 10 years to keep pace with escalating demand, the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) revealed yesterday.

THE Government was accused last night of letting builders off the hook when it emerged they have only paid a special social housing levy on 400 out of 80,000 houses.

PARENTS are remortgaging their homes or borrowing up to €20,000 to help their cash-strapped children buy a house.

PROPOSALS to increase the supply of building land and cap developers’ profits have had a mixed reaction, with the property industry warning against Government interference in the market.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) has welcomed the report of the all party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution in relation to property rights.

Interminably, the question of who, or what, is responsible for the unconscionable cost of houses in this country is one that is passed from the Government, to builders, to the cost of land, but ultimately the purchaser pays an exorbitant price.

FINDING somebody to take responsibility for adding rocket fuel to house prices is even more difficult than locating a reasonably priced home.

UP to 40% of the price of a house goes to the Government in the form of taxes and levies, according to new research by the Irish Home Builders Association.

SURPLUS State land and idle back gardens should be used to tackle the housing shortage in Dublin, the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) says.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) has dismissed Dublin City Council’s property levy plan as 'a property tax by the back door' that will add 5% to the price of a new house.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IBHA) is calling on the Government to appoint a regulator to monitor the introduction of all development levies proposed by local authorities.

THE Government’s 40% take in taxes on every house built is far too much, the Irish House Builders Association said last night.

The Irish Home Builders Association has claimed that the cost of new houses could rise by up to €20,000 if local authorities approve plans to increase development levies by up to one-third.

ADDITIONAL State- owned land around the country is to be made available for affordable housing, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed yesterday.

THE GOVERNMENT spent over €250 million on rent subsidies last year, money which could have been better invested in affordable local authority homes, builders say.

THE Government must abolish the 2% insurance levy and crack down on fraudulent claims or hundreds of small construction firms across the country could go to the wall.

The Irish Builders Association says supply and demand for housing is levelling off.

The Construction Industry Federation and the Irish Home Builders Association are expressing disapointment at the Government in the revised arrangements for Social and Affordable Housing.

The Irish Home Builders' Association (IHBA) has reacted angrily to at the measures announced in today's Budget, complaining that home buyers cannot recover the VAT element on new housing.

UNWORKABLE legislation and delays in planning may push up further the price of new houses, the Irish Home Builders Association warned yesterday.

The Irish Home-Builders Association has warned that delays in the construction of new houses and apartments could result in higher prices.