Irelands Ghost Estates to be knocked down?

[mutley]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8653238.stm

They have been called the 'ghost estates' of the Irish Republic - about 300,000 homes built in the frenzy of the property boom that no-one wants to live in now.
Soon, many brand new houses could be demolished.

So these house have been built in the middle of nowhere, but surely, if the price was right, then people would buy them. It seems though that the Government would rather see these house knocked to the ground, rather than, used even for social housing.
Also by decreasing the supply, it could be argued that the Government are trying to kick start the property bubble again.

[C. Flower]

Yes, the one thing we should have is cheap property. A lot of them are badly located, but not everyone needs to travel to work. Each estate needs a different solution, depending on where it is and what kind of housing is in it.

[charley]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8653238.stm




So these house have been built in the middle of nowhere, but surely, if the price was right, then people would buy them. It seems though that the Government would rather see these house knocked to the ground, rather than, used even for social housing.
Also by decreasing the supply, it could be argued that the Government are trying to kick start the property bubble again.

fine houses aren't they .it would be a pity to knock them .sensible price and they should sell . this crack of knocking something down instead of lowering the price is stupid.

[Digger Out]

We must never allow this to happen. Why not give them to old folk in cluster housing, young families, returning emigrants or whatever. . Is is sacrilege to think of demolition. Its a tipping point.

[mutley]

fine houses aren't they .it would be a pity to knock them .sensible price and they should sell . this crack of knocking something down instead of lowering the price is stupid.

Yeah, they are great houses, big questions need to be asked as to why these houses were able to be built, with no planning for ammenities, like schools shops etc...... Obviously the builders and planners, had no one in mind when these house were built, just massive euro signs in front of their eyes.

[Gruffalo]

That is a good report alright. It really highlights the stupidity of the planning i.e. the lack of thought that went into it. The county shown in the report is Carlow. Carlow is a nice county and one that I personally am fond of but just how many people did they think were going to move there. It is the second smallest county in size and third smallest by population. There are just over 50,000 people there and probably not enough infrastructure to cope with that level of demand. So how in the name of God did they think that they were going to cope with the thousands more that were supposed to fill these estates?

[C. Flower]

That is a good report alright. It really highlights the stupidity of the planning i.e. the lack of thought that went into it. The county shown in the report is Carlow. Carlow is a nice county and one that I personally am fond of but just how many people did they think were going to move there. It is the second smallest county in size and third smallest by population. There are just over 50,000 people there and probably not enough infrastructure to cope with that level of demand. So how in the name of God did they think that they were going to cope with the thousands more that were supposed to fill these estates?

Nobody was counting the totals nationally and checking them against household numbers. We were so used to having a housing shortage that I don't think the idea of oversupply occurred to anyone. But by 2006 the markets flattened and the banks must have known that. They sold off their own portfolios and loaned a pile of extra money to developers. They must have known what they were doing.

[mutley]

Nobody was counting the totals nationally and checking them against household numbers. We were so used to having a housing shortage that I don't think the idea of oversupply occurred to anyone. But by 2006 the markets flattened and the banks must have known that. They sold off their own portfolios and loaned a pile of extra money to developers. They must have known what they were doing.

Exactly as soon as they knew the game was up, they sold their own buildings

[Gruffalo]

Nobody was counting the totals nationally and checking them against household numbers. We were so used to having a housing shortage that I don't think the idea of oversupply occurred to anyone. But by 2006 the markets flattened and the banks must have known that. They sold off their own portfolios and loaned a pile of extra money to developers. They must have known what they were doing.

I agree but it does highlight how bad the planning issue is in Ireland and that goes for every planning related area. Let me give you an example from another area i.e. transport infrastructure. The Galway to Limerick train line recently reopened. Included in the new stations are Ardrahan and Craughwell which have a minimal population - we are talking hundreds here. At the same same time, not included were Oranmore and Renmore in Galway which would cater for thousands of people and Moyross in Limerick from where people would be able to walk to Thomond Park, The Gaelic Grounds and L.I.T. Again this stop would cater for thousands of people. Common sense would suggest that you introduce the stations with the most potential first but that is not what was done.

The reason that I use an example from another field is to highlight that this is not just a housing issue, or a banking issue. This country has a serious inability to plan and manage housing and infrastructure and it causes problems and costs money everywhere you look. The whole system needs to be cleaned out and started again.

[C. Flower]

I agree but it does highlight how bad the planning issue is in Ireland and that goes for every planning related area. Let me give you an example from another area i.e. transport infrastructure. The Galway to Limerick train line recently reopened. Included in the new stations are Ardrahan and Craughwell which have a minimal population - we are talking hundreds here. At the same same time, not included were Oranmore and Renmore in Galway which would cater for thousands of people and Moyross in Limerick from where people would be able to walk to Thomond Park, The Gaelic Grounds and L.I.T. Again this stop would cater for thousands of people. Common sense would suggest that you introduce the stations with the most potential first but that is not what was done.

The reason that I use an example from another field is to highlight that this is not just a housing issue, or a banking issue. This country has a serious inability to plan and manage housing and infrastructure and it causes problems and costs money everywhere you look. The whole system needs to be cleaned out and started again.

I agree with you. There's no concept of value for money - there is almost a pride in constructing vanity projects with no thought for viablity.

[Cassandra Syndrome]

Its insanity to knock these houses down. All the scarce resourses used to build them? All the people waiting for housing?

THey want to eliminate supply for the sake of NAMA.

Simple solution, let the market find a quick equilibrium. Sell them off for a couple of grand if need be. The housing stock decreases, better still no waiting list.

Demand for building picks up. This zombie 15 year chinese torture of gradual decline is a deadweight loss.

[kerdasi amaq]

How about inviting elderly emigrants(if they have a pension from a foreign government) to return and take these houses. That would help bring money into the country.

[Newsy]

Its insanity to knock these houses down. All the scarce resourses used to build them? All the people waiting for housing?

THey want to eliminate supply for the sake of NAMA.

That very thought struck me the other day. NAMA must be the largest property bank in the world. If they could get rid of the surplus, by knocking houses, they could hold property and thereby drive prices up.

What needs to be done is lower the price of such property.....lower them enough so people will buy them, complete them.

There is such an estate close to where we live. 2 houses occupied out of 10. Internally a lot of work needs to be done on the 8 but it would be far better to sell them at a good price and get them finished.

In some 'ghost estates' of e.g. 30 houses, the first house could be occupied, the 15th and the 21.....how can the houses in between be knocked......the other houses would be like 3 islands.

It would be criminal to knock these houses.

[C. Flower]

There are big problems coming up with unfinished estates. It's proving very difficult or impossible to get them certified and insured, so some may be impossible to sell at any price.

[Kid Ryder]

I agree but it does highlight how bad the planning issue is in Ireland and that goes for every planning related area. Let me give you an example from another area i.e. transport infrastructure. The Galway to Limerick train line recently reopened. Included in the new stations are Ardrahan and Craughwell which have a minimal population - we are talking hundreds here. At the same same time, not included were Oranmore and Renmore in Galway which would cater for thousands of people and Moyross in Limerick from where people would be able to walk to Thomond Park, The Gaelic Grounds and L.I.T. Again this stop would cater for thousands of people. Common sense would suggest that you introduce the stations with the most potential first but that is not what was done.

The reason that I use an example from another field is to highlight that this is not just a housing issue, or a banking issue. This country has a serious inability to plan and manage housing and infrastructure and it causes problems and costs money everywhere you look. The whole system needs to be cleaned out and started again.

Designed to fail. A rail route planned by road lovers and road promoters. And what use will the fancy motorways be when the oil runs out? Not long to go for that to happen.