There is an urgent need to properly regulate the bidding process to protect first-time buyers, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n
Deputy O\u2019Callaghan, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cBank of Ireland have reported that the average homebuyer is now paying 10 per cent above the asking price. This is incredibly disheartening for the thousands of people looking to buy their first home.<\/p>\n
\u201cA colossal shortage in the supply of affordable housing has created record breaking house prices and is leaving first-time buyers in a cutthroat competition to secure the few homes coming to the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cEstate agents can use people\u2019s desperation to instigate bidding wars that drive up the price as high as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst-time buyers have told me of waking up to bids being placed in the middle of the night. Buying a home should not be a 24-hour job.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnregulated bidding wars is a driving factor in house price inflation which has seen the cost of buying a home surpass the peak of the Celtic Tiger.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance, Scotland and Germany all have fair and regulated bidding processes where accepted offers are legally binding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis provides transparency, certainty and legal protection for both buyers and sellers while bringing greater stability to the property market.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s now time for Ireland to follow suit and protect first-time buyers from gazumping and opportunistic bidding wars.\u201d<\/p>\n
September 23, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is an urgent need to properly regulate the bidding process to protect first-time buyers, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O\u2019Callaghan. Deputy O\u2019Callaghan, who is the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said: \u201cBank of Ireland have reported that the average homebuyer is now paying 10 per cent above the asking price. This is incredibly disheartening for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,10,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cian-ocallaghan","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n