O’Keeffe: Housing market back on track by 2009

HOUSING minister Batt O’Keeffe is confident the property market can recover by 2009 — provided the building industry does not curtail construction to massage prices upwards.

The junior minister blamed the hard selling of 100% mortgages, media hype and market controls within the building industry for the current slump.

He insisted the reform of stamp duty was justified and that it had helped boost purchasing power to ensure a smooth transition to more stable prices.