The government\u2019s new housing plan contains no measures to improve transparency in the property market, resulting in higher prices and more obstacles for people trying to buy a home, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.<\/p>\n
Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cA study carried out by Myhome.ie and Bank of Ireland has highlighted some of the reasons for poor liquidity in the housing market. Among the key findings is that one in seven of all housing transactions is settled for at least 20 per cent above the original asking price, with two in five homes sold for 10 per cent more than originally advertised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is creating an unclear picture for prospective purchasers and vendors and adding to the time and effort property transactions are taking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have long had major concerns about a lack of transparency in the bidding process. In some cases, purchasers are being gazumped or lured into phoney price wars through phantom bids.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s failure to tackle these sharp practices is squeezing buyers in an already overheated market and putting the dream of home ownership even further out of reach. House prices are already 10 times the average wage \u2013 this is completely unsustainable, both economically and socially.<\/p>\n
\u201cDisgracefully, there is absolutely nothing in the Minister\u2019s new housing plan to address the lack of transparency in the home purchasing process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government only needs to look at what happens in other countries, such as Scotland and France, to find solutions. In the Scottish model, for instance, the buyers put in a sealed or closed bid once, and the highest bidder gets the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis removes the possibility of bidding wars or fictional bids being submitted. Surely we could look at the merits of a similar system for Ireland?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government must immediately act on the findings of this study and improve transparency in the housing market. Too many people are already locked out of being able to buy a home without the added burden of a dysfunctional purchasing system.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 8, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government\u2019s new housing plan contains no measures to improve transparency in the property market, resulting in higher prices and more obstacles for people trying to buy a home, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said: \u201cA study carried out by Myhome.ie and Bank of Ireland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release","category-rory-hearne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n