Property upsurge: are we forgetting past mistakes?

Dublin house prices are said to be rising by €5,000 per month, Bank of Ireland is offering to pay the stamp duty for first-time buyers and rents are spiralling.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is rejecting concerns about the development of a property bubble, but with house prices in certain areas rising by double digits, mortgage lending on the increase and packed open house viewings on Saturday mornings, are we returning to scenes from the last decade?

An event taking place in Dublin this Wednesday will examine the current state of the property market, and answer whether this time is different and if we have learnt lessons from the mistakes of the past.

Speakers will include economist David McWilliams, Daft.ie chief economist Ronan Lyons and Tom Lynch, chief executive of the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

On the subject of a housing bubble, the Central Bank is holding a conference in Dublin tomorrow where property and mortgages will be among the topics discussed.

It will look at deleveraging in a highly indebted property market, and if there are any implications for household consumption.

The Macro to Micro – A New Era in Financial Statistics conference is taking place at the Institute of Bankers, and aims to highlight research using the Central Bank's traditional aggregated data and more recently developed granular data sources. Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan will be among the speakers.