Price reductions now part of builders' mindset
Submitted by admin on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 21:12
Thursday, 21 May 2009
The latest survey on construction companies reveals that 76% of housebuilders are currently not building, with 36% of them expecting not to build any houses at all this year.
Merrion estimates that just 16,000 new units will be built here in 2009 and 14,000 in 2010. This compares to figures of over 80,000 at the peak of the housing boom.
Builders also said that it will take until the second half of 2010 at the earliest to clear their stock.
96% of builders surveyed by Merrion said they are seeing lower selling prices this year compared to 2008, with 40% of these noting a decline of over 20% in the last 12 months.
Merrion said that price reductions are now very much part of the builders' mindset, which was not the case a year ago. The survey noted that apartment prices have fallen further than house prices, while prices outside the Dublin area saw greater falls than those within the Dublin area.
The survey also reveals that 28% of survey participants expect prices to fall further in 2009 and 2010, while no participant expects prices to rise either this year or next.