Ahead of Budget 2024 next week, property advisor Savills Ireland is calling on the Government to implement a number of changes to stimulate the delivery of new homes.
It is proposing a temporary reduction in the construction VAT rate from the current 13.5% to 9%.
"While we acknowledge that there are difficult technical challenges to implement this measure, we believe now is the right time to make such a move, ultimately benefiting thousands of people in need of homes," Savills said.
It is also calling for an increase in the threshold for the Help-to-Buy scheme.
"We urge the Government to increase the ceiling of €500,000 for the Help-to-Buy scheme.
"Since the measure was introduced in January 2017, consumer inflation (HICP) has increased by 20%, meaning the limit for help-to-buy should have increased to €600,000 to keep pace with inflation," it said.
"By not increasing the limit with inflation since it was introduced seven years ago, the Government is choosing to allow inflation to silently kill the help-to-buy scheme, which is regretful given how popular and successful it has proven to be both with buyers and industry," it added.
Savills is also calling for an increase in resources for the provision of data services.
"Given the current housing crisis, it is essential that we have up-to-date and robust information systems in place to allow public policy and business decisions be made on a sound evidence-based footing," the company said.
It said the RTB's rental report is typically six months out of date when released, with Q1 2023 information still the latest information available on the rental market.
"This is just one example of where serious informational deficiencies are in place in Ireland’s housing market.
"We call on the Minister to properly resource the various Government bodies responsible for the production of the market information to address this important issue," it said.
John Ring, Director of Research at Savills Ireland said the new homes sector has experienced significant challenges, with supply falling critically behind demand.
"These asks by Savills Ireland are aimed at proactively addressing these challenges and removing barriers to homeownership for the Irish populace," he said.
