While there has been a lot of discussion of the draft NAMA legislation’s definition of long-term economic value, there has been very little attention paid to its clause discussing current market values.
There are two interesting aspects to the discussion of market value. First, there is the fact that it is being discussed at all. We know that there is a very limited number of transactions in the current market for development and investment property, so it might have been expected that the government would fall back on the claim that there was no market as a justification for moving straight to the dreaded long-term economic value. (And indeed, the Minister for Finance, did mention illiquidity on Morning Ireland despite its absence from the legislation.)
Second, there is the wording of what is meant by current market value. The legislation defines it as
the estimated amount that would be paid between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction where both parties acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion
This sounds eminently reasonable doesn’t it? The parties are acting knowledgeably. They are being prudent. Presumably, then, they are aware of the stuff discussed in the long-term economic value definition—that the current crisis will abate and the financial system will become stable—and are factoring this into their decisions.