Residential property prices (houses and apartments combined) at a national level rose by 10.5% in the year to April, according to new official figures released this morning. This is up from the annual increases of 9.6% and 9.3% in March and February respectively. In Dublin, residential property prices increased by 8.2% in the year to [...]

It was announced today that Canadian property investment firm, Timbercreek Asset Management, has launched its Irish commercial property lending business with €200m available to support property investment projects. Paul Roddy has been appointed to head Timbercreek’s Irish operations and is building an initial team of four people to run the business from offices in Merrion Square, [...]

This week the Paris-based think tank the OECD warned property prices were escalating rapidly and Ireland may be facing another bubble.Considering the catastrophic damage unleashed by the bust in the financial crisis, the warning should be taken seriously.But the first issue is that during the downturn Ireland had two simultaneous problems: a credit bubble and [...]

Irish mortgage approvals grew at a solid, albeit more moderate rate in April, according to data published this morning by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI). The number of approvals grew by 12% year on year (yoy) in April (87% yoy in March) with the value of approvals increasing by 20% yoy (103% yoy [...]

Construction activity accelerated in May, with firms reporting sharp increases in new business and further job creation during the month, according to the Ulster Bank purchasing managers’ index for the sector. Respondents to the survey reported “particular strength” in housing, where activity expanded at the second-fastest rate in the survey’s 17-year history. The rise comes [...]