Solving the housing crisis means people selling their home should face higher taxes, a columnist has argued. 

House prices in Ireland continue to surge; since 2024, the average price of a home in Ireland has increased by 7.5%, according to estate agent Sherry FitzGerald. 

While most experts cite increasing supply as the best way to make housing more affordable, columnist Conor Skehan said he would rather they change the tax system. 

“[Housing] is a human right, it’s a social signifier and it’s an investment grade asset,” he told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“The last one is the thing that’s got to be dealt with. 

“It’s very painful to admit but all investment assets have got to be treated equally under the tax code. 

“That means, for instance, capital gains tax on increasing value in housing - even on the family home.”

A man walking past 'For Sale' signs in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Mr Skehan continued that while it might be politically difficult, it would be worthwhile doing. 

“These types of solutions are always preceded by the type of binary choice that… of saying, ‘Capital Gains Tax on my family home is unacceptable,’” he said. 

“Obviosuly, the implementation of any tax system is bracketed by rules to ensure fair play and reasonable accommodation. 

“So, for instance, a restriction in the number of months or years that elapse between purchasing and reselling. 

“But the reality is everybody in Ireland looks on their home as an investment grade asset. 

“The problem is they only see it on their own terms and what they don’t see is it’s fuelling the rise of treating housing as an investment and not a service.” 

For Sale signs. Picture byL: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. 

When asked whether higher taxes would make people less likely to sell their homes, Mr Skehan said it would mean less people see property as an investment. 

“What’s good for the totality of the Irish economy is to take the driver of investment out of housing,” he said. 

“And return it to where it should be, which is a service. 

“President Xi in China said a house is not an investment, it’s a place to live in - and he’s not wrong there.”

Main image: A new housing estate in Northern Ireland. Picture by: Alamy.com.