Sir, – It is overly simplistic of your columnist David McWilliams ("Tyranny of short-termism contributing to housing crisis", Opinion & Analysis, May 22nd) to describe the housing problem as being an issue of "supply, supply, supply which can only be solved by build, build and build yet more".
What about demand, demand, demand?
If the recent behaviour of investment funds has shown us anything, it is that the housing crisis is not just a problem of supply but also very much a problem of demand, with first-time buyers and owner-occupiers being squeezed out of the market by investors. Sure, we need to build more houses and apartments, both for prospective owner-occupiers and tenants, while there are also measures that can be taken to reduce building costs. However, as long as we continue to allow speculative investment in residential property to go unchecked or, worse still, to be favoured by tax reliefs, prices will remain inflated and young adults and families will find it increasingly difficult to afford a home of their own.
An exclusive focus on increasing supply will not be enough to resolve the housing crisis. It is also necessary to reduce demand by limiting the scope to acquire residential property for investment purposes and prioritising first-time buyers and owner-occupiers.
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The recent measures taken by the Government to curb new house buying by investment funds are inadequate and only apply to new housing developments.
More extensive measures need to be introduced on the demand side, along with increasing supply, to bring affordable home ownership within reach of our young adult population.
It would be useful to take a look at what measures have been taken by other countries in this regard. – Yours, etc,
JOHN FANNING,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.