Initiative Ireland calls for more support for housebuilding
THE PLATFORM behind Ireland’s largest peer-to-peer loan to date has called for more support for property developments in the country, as research shows four times more houses need to be built in 2018 than in 2017 to match demand.
A report by Initiative Ireland, called Housing 2031, forecasts that 480,000 new homes are needed across Ireland by 2031 to meet demand – equating to 34,000 new units on average per year.
“2017 saw a significant uplift in the volume of new housing commencements across Ireland but many of these developments, especially larger developments, will take some time to come on the market,” Rory McEntee, director of property and legal at Initiative Ireland, said,
Initiative Ireland sets up syndicates of loans for P2P lenders to fund and back residential development projects.
It is looking to raise €60m (£53m) by the end of 2018 to meet its 250-home target.
In December 2017, the platform raised €1.5m for a loan to North Strand Five Lamps that will finance a social housing development in Dublin, consisting of 10 apartments and a ground floor cafe.
Read more: Ireland’s Linked Finance gains FCA approval