€475,000 the median sale price for a residential property in Dublin according to CSO.
The housing crisis is getting worse. How many of us have been told to sit tight and wait for the housing market to improve naturally? To ride it out and save up some money in the mean-time?
I am not the only one who has been holding onto a fear. That I would not be able to move out in my early twenties! Since secondary school even. Back then I learned about the mortgage rules and how I would only be able to borrow 4x my salary (3.5 back then). I figured out graduate salaries typically earn €35,000. what can €140,000 get you ? I used to think there were apartments for €150,000 and that all I had to do was knuckle down for a year and hold on to a deposit. Those apartments don’t exist!
In Ireland it’s typical to purchase a house at approx 5x the median salary (~€45k)
Look at this graph!
But even though the national figures are bleak. And even though the mortgage numbers will never add up. And even though it’s clear that the only way forward is to move or save close to a six-figure deposit.
I have a plan.
A radical plan.
One that will fix the housing crisis …and potentially introduce all kinds of other problems.
I sincerely believe that any person who studies for a degree, and sits their arse down at home for a year saving, should be able to move out and purchase their own tiny home.
So, this October I will work on putting it all together. A brand new proposal to rock the very core of Irish society. To break open the crust of construction costs and pour a fluid lava over an unprecedently slow government response. Perhaps out of this molten earth a new residential paradise can be moulded.
New dwellings will have to be constructed cheap and with a new funding mechanism outside of the traditional mortgage for a new build. The housing market in Ireland is built around business and, it works solely for businesses. What can we do if not adapt? Perhaps the solution is through the setting up of a sort of social company?
That is my outline and without rambling any further I will leave this promise to dig into this forming idea and report back with my findings. Once all the information is together, I will publish a full report and upend the entire housing landscape in Ireland.