Houses in Laurel Park Clondalkin Dublin for sale in 1954.

10 comments
  1. It’s hilarious coz back in the day you could buy a council house in Leeds for 1 pound. In the late 90s, you had to prove means to have it as a keeper upper tho. Newcastle too iirc.

  2. My gran bought their townhouse in Drimnagh for about the same amount at that time against grandads wishes. It was a good time for those that did it.

  3. Not really comparable tho given the change in society and what people want.

    In 1954 a house was more than likely the largest single purchase you’d make. Access to a mortgage was much more difficult than today, the state provided considerably more housing units than it does today. We don’t want a repeat of the tenement blocks!

    Compared to today where a family of 5 can average 3-5k yearly on holidays, 30-40 every 4-5 years on a car, +1k tax and insurance, +1k average on house hold electronics, +1k on clothing yearly, +2k on utilities yearly. Most families want to be near to metropolitan area.

    This idea that pre 90s Ireland was a utopia is nonsense. National infrastructure was a joke, interest payment was high and tax income was high, unemployment was scarily high. Migration was high.

    Life has changed here for the better. There is a global phenomenon across all major cities that housing is at a premium price, much of it is because governments have stepped out of the building space and deferred to private firms, with a request (often not met) of a portion of social housing. No private firm will operate at a loss and will instead try to maintain high house price to maximise profits.

    Anyone who has bought a house knows that our system of blind bidding against people who may are or may not have the means to purchase is criminal. You should be mortgage approved and verified before an agent accepts a bid. In fact the whole system should be reformed.

    Government has failed, lobbyists have won!

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