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Report warns Brexit will see 'significant risks' to Irish property sector

A new report is warning of the likely impact of Brexit on the Irish property market. Property Ind...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.46 5 Jan 2018


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Report warns Brexit will see &...

Report warns Brexit will see 'significant risks' to Irish property sector

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.46 5 Jan 2018


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A new report is warning of the likely impact of Brexit on the Irish property market.

Property Industry Ireland (PII), the Ibec group that represents the sector, says this includes significant risks - but also some opportunities.

It says a hard Brexit could ultimately deliver "a significant shock" to the Irish economy as a whole, which in turn could undermine the performance of the property sector.

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It adds that while Brexit could bring new economic opportunities, Ireland may not be fully able to benefit from them "due to infrastructure capacity constraints".

PII says to offset these risks a series of actions are needed; including additional steps to boost the housing supply, speeding up vital infrastructure projects and companies diversifying into new markets beyond the UK.

Dr David Duffy, director PII, says: "Given the broad nature of the property sector it seems likely that in the short-run we will see mixed impacts.

"Some parties could see an upturn in activity as UK firms look to locate some of their activities here, while others will see a negative impact on their trade with the UK due to a weaker sterling.

"Our concern is that in the longer run any negative impacts on economic activity will feed through to the property sector."

The report says challenges include rising prices and rents which may affect competitiveness, weaker sterling impacting on exports of building materials and availability of property which may act as a constraint.

It is urging the Government to implement measures to increase both the supply of new homes and the number of properties in the private rented sector.

It also says action needs to be taken to tackle construction costs. "Priority should be given to reducing the impact of taxes and levies on the price of housing provision", it says.

And it adds that companies need to look at alternative markets to the UK.

"Firstly to prepare for more difficult access to the UK market and secondly, to be ready to face increased competition from UK firms looking to service their European client base."


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