Property slump - Urgent clarification is needed

CONSTRUCTION authorities confirm that there are currently 35,000 new homes unoccupied at a value of about €9 billion. But is that the total extent of the problem, or are there also many more houses as well?

Some economists estimate the total number of new houses lying idle is more like 50,000. Goodbody Stockbrokers even estimate that 62,500 houses, completed between April 2006 and April 2008, remain unsold.

On the basis of those figures, it would seem that even the experts do not know the real extent of the current financial problems. The value of the unoccupied properties — on the basis of an average value of €270,000 for a new house — could be much higher than the €9bn figure cited.