ghost town or city of dead life and death after irish boom
News Posted On: 21 December 2009
Ireland's property bubble was ten years old when the global crisis hit, plunging the former Celtic Tiger into its worst recession on record. Unsold properties and unfinished buildings littered the landscape exposing lending banks to the threat of collapse. Now the Irish government has set up the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) with a 54 billion euro bail-out budget to absorb toxic property portfolios from banks .
NAMA could become the biggest landowner in Ireland with an asset portfolio comparable with the biggest property firms in the world. However “NAMA-land” constitutes some of the most depressed real estate in Ireland and radical solutions to the oversupply of abandoned projects are being sought.
'Shadowland' was the rather sombre name given to a week-long exhibition organised by FKL Architects in Dublin that ended on Friday. Subtitled 'Looking out from under the shadow of NAMA' ideas being bandied about for reviving urban areas included building indoor football pitches and 'two for the price of one' offers on homes in new developments.
"The leftovers of the boom time take the form of half-finished projects, 'ghost' housing estates and land zoned for development in inappropriate locations nationwide," said Michelle Fagan, partner FKL.
One way of utilising surplus land suggested by FKL was to release it for cemeteries to alleviate shortage of burial spaces.
"Unfinished estates in inappropriate locations for housing could be turned into 'Cities Of The Dead' on a European model with the unfinished houses reused as crematoria and chapels and the remains housed in semi-detached tombs," FKL said.
A 'scrappage' scheme for homes in remote locations was also suggested whereby owners would be offered houses in towns while the the "liberated" rural sites reverted back to forest or farmland.
It all sounds a bit desperate – in essence NAMA is being urged to reduce housing stock in a variety of ways. However, should the schemes and others like them gain traction, then eventually supply should tighten and prices firm again. Spanish banks were pushed into a similar bind as NAMA is facing back in the 90's when they had large swathes of unsaleable property on their asset ledgers. What seemed like a financial albatross finally paid off for them seven times over when the next Spanish property bubble grew in the noughties. Time will tell if NAMA will be so lucky.
View property in Ireland
View property for sale in Ireland
Back to news articles for this country
Latest Related News Articles in Ireland
Get Get Down to the Irish Property Market
2011-12-28
According to the latest data from the central statistics office, residential property prices in Irel.....
Investors Chase Cheapest Irish Propety Since 2003
2011-11-16
With Irish property prices now at their lowest level since 2003, interest from investors is back on .....
Irish Property Market Looking up in 2011
2011-02-07
According to experts 2011 is to be a much better year for the Irish property market, despite austeri.....
Ireland Property To See Beginning of Recovery in 2011
2011-01-21
CB Richard Ellis ios forecasting the makings of recovery in Ireland's commercial sector this year......
Ghost Town Or City Of Dead Life And Death After Irish Boom
2009-12-21
Ireland's property bubble was ten years old when the global crisis hit, plunging the former Celtic T.....
New Home Building in Ireland to Decline Until 2012
2009-11-03
Ireland enjoyed a remarkable boom period following accession to the EU when its economy sparkled. No.....
Irish Government to Buy Bad Mortgage Loans
2009-09-21
The Irish Government has announced that it will buy failing mortgage loans from banks in the hope of.....
Ireland Economic Decline Slows and Property Looks Promising
2009-07-10
Ireland's economy has suffered one of the fastest contractions in Europe, certainly among developed .....
Irish property set to fall in price
2008-11-21
The cost of property in Ireland is likely to decline by ten per cent by the end of 2009, an expert h.....