@JTO
So that’s what FF are up to: they’re destroying the economy to promote family breakdown - more households to fill all the houses. Brilliant.

No, I don’t believe that. But NAMA and the blanket bank guarantee are solely due to FF/Developers rescuing themselves. In this case there is no other rational explanation: half the developers loans written off, then bought for €35 Bn too much from the banks and given to pet state agency.
It’s win, win for bankers & FF/developers and lose and lose again for taxpayers.

Morgan Kelly says NAMA will lose:
€35 Bn lost on property loans acquired.
€25 Bn lost on interest on €59 Bn borrowed.
€5 Bn wasted finishing developments no one needs.

Total loss: E65Bn plus economic costs & NO extra lending!

Where is your evidence that there are fewer households in Ireland now than in 2006?

Its a ridiculous claim.

According to CSO figures (link below), the population of Ireland increased from 4,232.0 thousand in April 2006 to 4,459.3 thousand in April 2009. That’s an increase of 5.4 per cent. So, even if the number of households only increased in line with population, there would bbe 79,000 more households in April 2009 than in April 2006, an average annual increase of over 26,000. But, the number of households has been increasing much faster than population for decades, as a result of falling household size. In their quarterly bulletin in autumn 2008, ESRI estimated (based on CSO) figures that the number of households was still increasing at a rate of around 50,000 annually.

http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/population/current/popmig.pdf

My colleague Rob Kitchin at NUIM tells me that according to the 2006 Census almost 217,000 houses and flats/apartments were lying vacant across Ireland. This figure relates to 174,935 houses and 41,598 flats or apartments.

Incidentally, in the 2006 census there were 1,469,521 private households in Ireland.

From eyeballing the maps the vacancy rate appears significantly higher in the post-2006 properties. So I would say that there are significantly more than 217,000. And presumably fewer households than in 2006.

Ask the UK if they can be used for refugees? Housing for those on flood plains?
Get ideas flowing!

Anyone buying should seriously consider where they are going to find tenants. The country looks like it has been blitzkrieg’d with unsustainable developemnt. NAMA will end up having lotteries to get rid of this lot. That might even work out cheaper than selling bonds to banks and paying the interest over a decade or more.

Anyone buying from a receiver/liquidator in that area should really look at this map.