Ed Carey, the chair of the SCSI’s Residential Property Group said the current low level of transactions needed to be addressed and anything which encouraged activity in the housing market was a welcome development.
“There is a lack of consumer confidence in the market at present and many potential first time buyers have shown a reluctance to make a purchase as prices continue to fall. NAMA’s 80:20 Deferred Payment Initiative is aimed particularly at this group and will provide those who purchase these properties with a degree of cover against future price falls. However we’ll need to see how the scheme unfolds in practice before we can make any definitive assessment” Carey said.
The pilot scheme will apply to 115 houses located in 12 developments in counties Dublin, Meath and Cork.
“NAMA describes the scheme as a targeted initiative which may be rolled out to further properties in due course. Our understanding is that based on results from the pilot, the scheme may be rolled out to approximately 600 other properties. So, overall we expect its impact on the market to be limited,” Carey concluded.
