Review finds reluctance among lenders to provide funds for apartment developments

Feedback from developers and other stakeholders with Home Building Finance Ireland shows, in the case of apartments, issues with viability are far more acute. File picture: Denis Minihane

Lenders may not have the risk appetite to fund build-to-sell apartments because the demand for people to buy such homes is “unproven”, a new report has suggested.

A review of the operation of Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) prepared by the Department of Finance has found that “funding gaps remain” in terms of meeting the expected housing demand at this time, as lenders “may not yet have the capacity or risk appetite to provide the overall levels of funding required”.