Ireland’s negativity equity problem has almost gone too far to be addressed now, according to a local auctioneer.
Reports from ratings agency Standard and Poor’s today suggest 43% of people are still in negative equity owing an average of €54,000 more than the value of their properties.
Speaking on KCLR Live, Fran Grincell of Fran Grincell Properties in Kilkenny says it’s a crisis that could easily have been avoided:
“It’s a mess that’s dragged on since 2008/2009 and no-one has addressed it and it would have been easy to address it at the start. What we’re starting to see is what the Irish Government and the Irish Banks did when they did deals with American hedge-funds and hedge-funds from other parts of the world to sell Irish property – Irish loans – cheap.”