This is a very interesting time to be living in Ireland.We’re in the middle of possible recovery from recession, new tax legislation which may completely change the way they tax property, NAMA (the goverment buying up toxic loans) and a national referendum on Lisbon 2, which will determine to what extent Ireland will continue to participate in the European Union.
I got here about two weeks ago and Megan and I are planning on spending a year here. It’s been an interesting experience meeting people and seeing how this country works. Mark Rose from Rose Property Services helped us find a place to live and I had an interesting conversation with him about the events of the last few years. It was a run-up that had many of the hallmarks we recognize in the US and some Canadian markets, but went so far beyond them as to defy description. I can see how things came together to make Ireland’s property 15-23% overvalued. It’s very educational to watch the deflation of the Irish property bubble and see how their government deals with the fallout.
I’m glad I live in Canada but it’s an interesting time to be in Ireland.
(As a side-note, one down side of being here is it’s killed my ability to qualify for mortgages by myself. I had to pass on a killer deal with an assumable mortgage that was $6,000 cash to close. Time for a pint of Guinness.)
