'Bidding wars for homes' — property jumps €530k during sale process
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O'Callaghan said that such bidding wars cause stress and anxiety among the public.
The housing minister has warned that a Celtic Tiger-style bidding war for homes must be avoided after watching a house almost double in value during the sales process.
Darragh O'Brien said he had watched the bidding war for a house in Rathmines, Dublin, which was originally listed at €685,000 but has risen to €1.2m.
Mr O'Brien said that such bidding wars are not something the Government wants to see.
"The bids are about €500,000 over the original asking price. That is not sustainable and is not something I want to see, but we are in an unusual position where we are coming through post-Covid and are building up capacity in the sector.
"There are also some cost implications and cost increases in materials and labour that I hope will be temporary."
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O'Callaghan said that such bidding wars cause stress and anxiety among the public.
"In the past week, a house in Rathmines, in poor condition and in need of significant renovation, has attracted a bidding war with offers in excess of €530,000 above the asking price.
Later in a debate on the Affordable Housing Bill, which Mr O'Brien called the "most comprehensive affordable housing legislation ever published by any government", Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan called the bidding war "crazy".
"A modest house in the Rathmines area went on the market in recent weeks for a modest asking price and eventually sold for €1.2m or €1.3m. This is utterly crazy stuff.
"It is all because people see an opportunity. It is people with money, not first-time buyers, who are doing that."
Meanwhile, the Oireachtas housing committee was told that risk analysis must be carried out to avoid further deaths in the homeless population.
The committee was discussing the , by Dr Austin O'Carroll, who called on all agencies involved with the homeless population to work together in order to learn from deaths among the homeless.
In 2020, 79 homeless people died across the State.
Eight people died outdoors, of those seven were listed as "single homeless", four of which had their own emergency accommodation in the months prior to their death, and three were regular rough sleepers.
"What happens particularly with homeless deaths, you get an outburst to the media, and you get people returning to a defensive position but the critical risk analysis is where you basically say to people. This is not about blame,'" Dr O'Carroll said.
