Latest news with #vacanthomes
BreakingNews.ie
25-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Ireland's 67,000 empty holiday homes: Find out how many are in your area
Are holiday home owners contributing to Ireland's housing crisis? That was the question raised this week when a senior official in Co Mayo called for a 'boycott' of people who own second homes. Advertisement Tom Gilligan, Mayo County Council's director of services for housing, initially called for a community-led initiative targeting people who own holiday homes, describing it as "demanding accountability" from property owners. "It is about trying to get these underutilised, vacant, empty homes back into use," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Wednesday, invoking the historical connection between Mayo and Captain Boycott, whom he characterised as an absentee landlord. However, Mr Gilligan later apologised for "any concern or distress" caused by his proposal. In a statement released by the council on Thursday, he said he was "deeply committed to addressing the complex housing challenges facing Mayo and to working collaboratively with councillors, stakeholders, and the community in doing so". Advertisement Despite the controversy, Mr Gilligan's comments succeeded in highlighting a growing concern backed by concrete data. The 2022 Census revealed a striking trend: holiday homes in the Republic increased by almost 8 per cent between 2016 and 2022, reaching nearly 67,000 properties nationwide. This growth occurred against the backdrop of the State's well-documented housing shortage. The Central Statistics Office defines these "holiday homes" as dwellings that remain unoccupied during the census but are used periodically, typically during summer months. Crucially, they are not classified as vacant homes, meaning they sit outside any policy interventions targeting empty properties. Coastal counties like Kerry, Donegal, Cork and Galway have the highest concentrations of holiday homes. Advertisement In some areas, the numbers are staggering: holiday homes comprise 65 per cent of all housing stock in places like Kilkee in Co Clare and Derrynane in Co Kerry. The statistics present these communities with a fundamental challenge: balancing their tourism-driven economy against local housing needs. In the UK, the authorities have decided to tackle the issue through taxation – house prices plunged in some parts of Wales after the introduction of a 150 per cent council tax premium on second homes. Scotland has implemented supplement taxes on second home purchases, making it more expensive to acquire holiday properties. Advertisement The rise of short-term rental platforms like Airbnb has also blurred the lines between holiday accommodation and permanent housing stock. Interestingly, recent research suggests that these platforms may not be the primary driver of rental shortages that many assume them to be. A study published last month by the Economic and Social Research Institute found no correlation between increases in Airbnb activity and declining new tenancies between 2019 and 2023. 'This does not mean that Airbnb activity has not had a detrimental impact on the private rental sector (PRS) in specific local markets, but it does not appear to be the root cause of the observed falls in available PRS accommodation nationwide,' the report said. Advertisement Instead, they identified reduced market turnover as a key factor, with many tenants choosing to stay put rather than face higher rents elsewhere or because homeownership remains out of reach. The Government has acknowledged these concerns and plans to introduce a register of short-term letting properties by summer 2026. This system would require landlords to obtain change-of-use planning permission before listing entire houses and apartments on platforms like Airbnb, particularly in designated rent pressure zones. Officials estimate this register could redirect 12,000 properties from the tourism market back into long-term rental accommodation. Whether this measure, combined with other housing initiatives, will meaningfully address the complex housing crisis remains to be seen.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Mayo housing official apologises for ‘distress' caused by holiday home boycott proposal
A Mayo County Council housing official has apologised for 'any concern or distress' caused by his proposal to boycott holiday homeowners. In a statement released by the council on Thursday, Tom Gilligan, director of services with responsibility for housing, said he is 'deeply committed to addressing the complex housing challenges facing Mayo and to working collaboratively with councillors, stakeholders, and the community in doing so'. He said he circulated an email to 'prompt internal discussion on a sensitive but relevant issue' and he did not anticipate it would be released publicly before members of the council's strategic policy committee had a chance to consider it. His proposal was circulated to the committee after it met last week and its members asked the council to examine ways to activate vacant homes for use. READ MORE Mayo County Council provided a statement on the issue on Wednesday. However, it released an updated statement on Thursday saying it wanted to highlight its 'sincere regret' for 'upset' caused to local elected members, the public and, 'in particular, owners of second homes in Co Mayo'. A council spokeswoman said the proposals were not intended for publication but were 'exclusively intended as an internal discussion document'. Despite the council's earlier statement seeking to clarify the issue, she said, 'a lot of confusion and disquiet remains evident'. She said the local authority is 'not aware how this email found its way to the media'. 'Had the correspondence not been released to the media prematurely, the matter would have been considered by the members of the [strategic policy committee] in the normal way and evidently would not have progressed any further,' she said.
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Singular house paints upsetting picture of Perth's property crisis
While housing prices skyrocket and desperate Australians are pushed to the financial brink, thousands of homes across the country are sitting empty. The brutal paradox is especially obvious in the world's most isolated city Perth, where there is desperate demand on one side, and wasted supply on the other. Large swathes of Perth properties are gathering dust – uninhabited and unaffordable for the average local. About 1400 public housing properties in Perth are sitting vacant while 19,000 people sit on a waitlist for access to one. The problem isn't just stark on paper; it's obvious in almost every pocket of the city. All over Perth, vacant housing is impossible to ignore, from boarded-up terraces, giant abandoned warehouses and commercial blocks covered in graffiti that haven't been touched in years. A complex owned by a wealthy businessman was one example of the depressing reality captured recently in a Brooko Moves YouTube video. It was estimated to be available for lease for about $15,000 a month, however according to a neighbour, it had been sitting vacant for years and the owner wasn't remotely concerned. Whether these types of properties are held by investors looking for a tax break, are unfinished or caught up in bureaucratic red tape, the result is the same: there are people with nowhere to live while homes sit empty. Great Australian Dream slips away The Perth property market has also experienced one of the biggest jumps in prices in the country, going up a whopping 19 per cent in the last 12 months, with the median price now $775,000. The capital city was once an affordable location where first homebuyers could manage entering the property market and still living comfortably. Buyers could easily snap up a house for between $400,000 and $600,00 between 2000 and 2021 – prices were relatively low and interest rates hadn't surged yet. But between 2022 and 2024, the median price surged from $520,000 to $660,000 and has continued to climb. In May 2025, a homebuyer can count on one hand the volume of houses available for $400,000 and expect them to be either demountable shacks in a retirement village or caravan park. The latest round of government incentives for first homebuyers won't be helpful for most people either. For first homebuyers, wanting to utilise the latest 5 per cent deposit scheme – applicable to properties worth up to $850,000 – repayments would be more than $1200 a week. Given wages have not risen in line with inflation or property prices, this option would be unaffordable for most. The median salary in Perth is about $150,000, but that's largely influenced by Fly In, Fly Out (FIFO) workers earning big money on mine sites up north. An alternative is to take up the scheme in regional parts of the state, where the cap on property prices was recently lifted from $400,000 to $600,000. The main issues being that even regionally, that price doesn't guarantee you an attractive home, and buying there would come at the cost of lengthy commutes for city-based employment and disconnection from family and social networks. It's a bitter pill to swallow for aspiring homeowners, many who feel they've done everything right, only to be locked out. Still, with the potential for further interest rate cuts on the horizon, there's cautious optimism that the tide could eventually turn. Barefoot Investor weighs in Meanwhile, Barefoot investor Scott Pape said that while the Tuesday's rate cut would help those trying to pay off their mortgage, it would also see more of the 'wrong people' get into the housing market. 'If I was a young person right now I would be pretty pissed off,' Pape told 'Every time a young person gets close, it just keeps getting more expensive.' Pape also slammed the Albanese government's five per cent deposit scheme – which will come in from January 1 next year – saying it would do 'a lot of damage'. 'It's stupid, totally stupid,' Mr Pape said. 'People shouldn't be buying a home in one of the most expensive cities in the world if they can't afford it. 'I don't understand how a responsible government can stand by and say this is a good thing.'
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
How that empty house next door could knock £50,000 off the value of YOUR home
Living next door to a run-down, empty house could knock more than £50,000 off the value of the average home – but there are steps you can take to protect your property's price tag. Almost one million homes are standing empty across the UK, the majority of which have been vacant for more than six months, according to council tax data analysed by the charity Action on Empty Homes. Of these, 133,000 belonged to someone who has died.
