Help to Buy increase should be scrapped
- €10k increase will drive price increases
Labour spokesperson on Housing, Rebecca Moynihan has highlighted a number of anecdotal sudden price increases in new house prices by up to €10,000 following the July Stimulus changes in the Help to Buy scheme, calling for a halt to the developer bailout.
Senator Moynihan said:
“The decision of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to increase the amount available under the Help to Buy scheme has led to immediate and overnight inflation of new house prices.
“I have been contacted with several examples now of new house prices increasing in a short period of time. We know that the Help to Buy scheme has led to higher prices in the past, and in at least 40% of cases supports those who already had a deposit.
“The Government’s housing policy will directly cause prices to increase by €10,000 that will only benefit developers at the expense of the public purse. There was also no rational reason for increasing the purchase threshold to €500,000 as it simply makes new housing more unaffordable by inflating prices.
“The change should now be scrapped because it’s clear it won’t make a jot of difference to someone trying to buy a house but benefits developers and speculators.
“The gapping hole at the heart of the stimulus plan was a failure to build more public housing, and a lack of support for renters”
“Only weeks in the job we are already seeing the disastrous housing policies of Fianna Fáil in action.”