Ross Shorten

Lisney

We have a number of residential infill sites in the Dublin 6 and Dublin 8 areas and there is land available for a large development in Mullingar. Ready-to-go opportunities that don't have the social housing element are very much in demand. The market shows a decline of 20 to 25 per cent in the value of suburban land without planning permission, but having said that, it depends on the land. Desirable land will be less affected by the social housing provision. The banks are a little bit more cautious in their lending. The feedback is that they expect builders to finish out what they are doing before they purchase more land. It's just prudent really.

Pat Nolan

Hamilton Osborne King

It is difficult to predict how many sites are coming on stream. It looks like volumes might be slightly up in provincial towns in the Leinster region but they are certainly down in the Dublin county area. In towns like Naas, Kildare, Portarlington and Carlow, sites would have been zoned approximately 18 months to two years ago, so they have been on the conveyor belt and are now coming on the market. In Dublin large tracts of land are in the hands of 12 to 15 larger developers. They have to go through the process of getting planning permission on the land in areas like Lucan, Stepaside and Castleknock. The building industry is at full capacity and they are building as many houses as they can. Labour and construction costs are going through the roof. The only way of substantial volume increase is to introduce system house building and that is in the pipeline. The banks are cautious about lending on residential developments, which is understandable as the new homes market has been showing signs of slowing down. Prices are still stable and there has been an increase in competition. The banks are showing quite strong support for those sites with planning permission.

Garvan Walsh

Gunne

We have about 150 acres coming on stream in the greater Dublin area. As far as the banks are concerned anything with planning permission is generally no problem but anything that is any way tricky or where there is a wait for planning permission of 18 months to two years is finding it more difficult. The banks are only lending up to 50 per cent to developers whereas before it was 80 to 90 per cent.

Des Quinn

Hooke & MacDonald

We have a site in Dublin 4 with full planning permission for about 100 apartments with a value in excess of £7 million (#8.89). On the northside near the M1, we have a site with full planning permission for about 120 units worth in excess of £5 million (#6.35m). Another one, for about 140 to 150 duplex and apartment units and some commercial units which is worth £8 to £10 million (#10.16m-#12.70m), is coming up soon in Artane. The banks are more interested in better-located sites with planning permission.

Peter Lynch

DTZ Sherry FitzGerald

We have a number of sites coming on the market in Dublin and nationally. The banks will back sites with full planning permission with no time delay and no issue of social and affordable housing. Building costs are affecting the market as is the social housing provision. But the fact that investors are coming back into the market is a positive feature. The second positive thing is the increase in densities, which is helping developers offset some of the building costs and social and affordable housing.