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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
More than half of Irish estate agents see house prices levelling off soon
Irish home prices are expected to rise by a further 5 per cent over the next 12 months, amid ongoing supply shortages, according to a survey of estate agent members of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). Joe Brennan reports on the predicted growth. However, 60 per cent of those polled see prices levelling off soon, with a further 18 per cent saying that they have already peaked – after a dozen years of continuous growth. Joe Brennan also reports on Goodbody Stockbrokers making a number of senior hires in a bid to boost the business. A number of staff left the organisation's investment banking area in late 2023, during and after a redundancy programme. Among the appointments is Stephen Kane, a former corporate finance director with the firm, who left in October 2023 for householder Cairn Homes. READ MORE In her latest column, Pilita Clark writes about the really concerning thing about the Coldplay concert scandal. This scandal, of course, concerns the former CEO of tech company Astronomer, who was caught with his arms wrapped around the company's head of human resources. Their embrace was captured on the big screen at the band's concert in Boston and has gone viral. Pilita Clark addresses the barrage of fabricated online statements purporting to be from those with insight. 'Some governments are trying to legislate against this muck, notably in the EU. The Coldplay couple — and the misleading maelstrom that followed their exposure — are a reminder that many more authorities need to join them,' she says. The co-founder of Dublin restaurant group Kinara and president of the Restaurant's Association of Ireland, Seán Collender, revealed the details of the impact of rising input costs that are leaving hospitality businesses on 'an extremely fine line'. 'These are huge, huge costs and we don't sell gold bars, we sell food,' he told Hugh Dooley. We need to enact a specific legal mandate, in the overriding national interest, to drive forward critical projects and avoid the endless round of planning applications, appeals and judicial reviews. Had we done that for the metro, it would have been finished a decade ago, writes John FitzGerald in his weekly column. 'But unless the planning system is reformed, I'm unlikely during my lifetime to ride the metro or drink Shannon water from my tap,' he says. How will the updated National Development Plan shape Ireland in years to come? Listen | 35:59 In 2025, it is both remarkable and disappointing that progress in tackling the gender gap in leadership is taking a backwards step in Ireland, with a 24.8 per cent year-on-year drop in women hired into top jobs here. There are no women leading any of the major Irish companies listed on stock markets, writes Sue Duke , vice-president of global public policy at LinkedIn, in our Business Opinion slot. If you would like to read more about the issues that affect your finances, sign up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Makhlouf worries for the economy and Glanbia chiefs feel the heat
Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf delivered his starkest warning yet on the potential downside for the Irish economy from any tariff and tax policy changes that might deter US companies from locating in the State. Peter Flanagan follows his speech to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce on a day Microsoft president Brad Smith reassured a European audience that it would not be ordered out of the EU by anyone. Glanbia executives faced shareholders yesterday in a bruising and chastening encounter at a time when the group's share price has tumbled and investors are raising doubts over its current strategy. Eoin Burke-Kennedy was there. The vast majority of taxpayers are compliant, Revenue said as it released its 2024 annual report but it did note that it is now chasing 7,000 businesses that took advantage of debt warehousing of more than €100 million in tax obligations during the Covid pandemic and refused to engage subsequently with Revenue over how they might start repaying the money owed. Mark Hilliard has the report. PTSB, the smallest of the three remaining indigenous banks says its share of new mortgage lending rose to more than 20 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Joe Brennan has the details. READ MORE Microsoft and Meta both reported quarterly figures that exceeded Wall St projections after US markets close last night. Investors gauging their performance on AI, pushed the shares ahead. Meanwhile, in Dublin, content moderators in Meta's Facebook hoping to sue the company for psychological injuries in the Irish courts have been turned away because the companies that employed them directly to carry out the work were based in other countries. IPL Plastics , a company that traces its roots back to Philip Lynch's IAWS group, is merging with Dutch peer Schoeller Allibert to create a business worth €1.5 billion, of which current IPL shareholders will own 55 per cent. Joe Brennan has the details. Trade unions representing worried workers at Short Brothers aerospace manufacturing site in Belfast – currently owned by Spirit AeroSystems – met senior UK ministers and politicians yesterday over fears that as many as 2,000 of the 3,500 jobs remains under threat. In her column, Ciara O'Brien casts a jaundiced eye at Elon Musk's latest extravagant promises for the potential of his much-hyped robotaxis . Robotaxis will come, she agrees, but it might be more at a crawl than a March. In Inside Business this week, host Ciarán Hancock looks at the impact of Donald Trump's first 100 days in office on markets with Aidan Donnelly, head of global equities at Davy stockbrokers, who is pressed on where markets might go for the rest of the year. Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Mortgage drawdowns hit record average of €328,000
Average Irish mortgage drawdowns hit a record of almost €328,000 in the first three months of the year, according to figures from the banking industry, as borrowers took on more debt as home prices continued to soar amid a shortage of properties for sale. This was driven by a 9.6 per cent annual rise in loans on second hand properties, to €370,790, according to Banking & Payments Federation Ireland's (BPFI) latest quarterly mortgage drawdowns report, which draws on data going back to 2005. Joe Brennan has the details. The cost of agricultural land in Ireland is forecast to rise by a further 6 per cent this year, as increased demand from the resurgent dairy sector is expected to outstrip supply, according to a report that warns US import tariffs could 'temper' that increase. The report, by State farming agency Teagasc and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), also forecasts that rental prices could increase by 7 per cent this year. Hugh Dooley reports. READ MORE For many of us, getting the family somewhere warm at the lowest cost possible is the goal every summer. Particularly this summer, amid a looming trade war and meltdown in global markets, writes Fiona Reddan. Others, however, may have some spare cash that they wish to use to make that much-needed trip go that little bit smoother. So if that's you, what are the options for adding a bit of luxury to your travel this spring and summer? Social media groups Meta and X have been ranked by consumers as the least reputable among 100 top organisations in Ireland, with the credit union movement named as the most reputable for the third consecutive year. The annual study by the Reputations Agency is based on the perceptions of over 5,000 members of the public. It measures levels of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest organisations in Ireland, reports Colin Gleeson 'Hopefully, this will be a positive end to the story for everyone', said the co-founder of Blackwater Distillery after a rescue plan was approved following a meeting of the company's creditors with a process adviser at the start of April. Nearly 95 per cent of the company's unsecured debt was written off, a sum of more than €500,000, and extended the repayment periods of other debts, stabilising the Waterford-based whiskey and gin distillery, writes Hugh Dooley. In his personal finance Q&A slot Dominic Coyle answers a question for a reader who is concerned over whether a UK pension would have an impact on claiming a non-contributory pension in the Republic. Cantillon reckons that another ECB rate cut is nailed on and marvels at the resurrection of the Andersen name . Whether former fund manager Neil Woodford deserves forgiveness is a matter for theology. Whether he deserves your money is a more earthly concern, writes Proinsias O'Mahony in Stocktake. The launch last week of a four-year programme of voluntary redundancies at RTÉ follows years of controversy over governance and finances at the broadcaster that stretch back well before the Ryan Tubridy payments affair of 2023. In fact, one of the implicit defences offered by board and management in Montrose for the unacceptable practices which came to light then was the intolerable pressure placed on RTÉ by successive governments' failure to reform the licence fee and, by implication, stump up more cash. but is their position any worse than any other media organisation, asks Hugh Linehan Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Tesla's profit slump and the ‘Elon factor'
Elon Musk's controversial involvement in US politics and a weak line-up saw Tesla report a 39 per cent slump in first-quarter profit after markets closed on Tuesday. Revenue and adjusted net income came in substantially below analyst expectations. Aviva Insurance Ireland gave up €70 million of net underwriting profit to its UK owner last year, lowering the profits of the Irish business, as it reinsured most of the motor, home and commercial insurance business written in the Republic with its parent. And they're not alone among Irish insurers, writes Joe Brennan. Private bus company Go Ahead Ireland says permission for a new bus depot in north Dublin would see it employ up to 450 workers and grow revenue by around €50 million per annum. Gordon Deegan reports on the planning application. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund warns that the increase in tariffs and in the uncertainty caused by US president Donald Trump's protectionist trade measures would lead to a significant slowdown in global growth in the near term. But, writes Eoin Burk-Kennedy, it stopped short of predicting a worldwide recession. READ MORE Eoin separately looks as Central Statistics Office data showing that the State's national debt stood at €218.2 billion at the end of last year, equating to €40,550 for every man, woman and child in the State. Devotees of the 'financial independence retire early' (FIRE) movement adhere to a programme of living frugally, saving hard and investing. Their goal is to build a money pot that will enable them to quit work, sometimes decades earlier than the norm. But how does it work? And is it possible, or even desirable, to live this way? Joanne Hunt investigates. And as Dublin's four local authorities prepare the ground for the tax on hotel stays, John McManus notes that it amounts to little more than getting tourists to pay for local authority services rather than exercising latitude already available under Local Property Tax to raise the same amount from householders, albeit at the risk of an electoral backlash. Back on the news pages, shares in DCC , the energy to technology distribution and services group, fell in London as the £1.05 billion (€1.22 billion) it achieved in a deal to sell its healthcare unit to HealthCo Investment, which is owned by funds run or advised by London-based private equity firm Investindustrial Advisors, disappointed investors. Job postings were up 15.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, Matrix Recruitment says, but it fears the Trump tariffs mean there is potential for sharper-than-expected slowdown. Colin Gleeson reports And Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has published the 11th annual progress update on the liquidation of IBRC – home to the remnants of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society. Joe Brennan reports that it has handed over €250 million of surplus cash to the Exchequer last week, bringing total distributions in recent years to €360 million. Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
