Smyth wants Nama to rent out apartments

NAMA SHOULD rent the apartments it takes over from the banks instead of selling them, a high-profile property developer argued last night.

Solicitor Noel Smyth, formerly of Dunloe Ewart and current head of Alburn Management, told a conference at Engineers Ireland last night that Nama is set to take over about 20,000 homes and apartments in Dublin alone.

He estimated that the agency is set to pay between €150,000 and €200,000 each for these homes. “It should be able to rent them back out at a return, based on that level,” he said.

Mr Smyth argued that this would allow people to rent substantial homes for €700 to €800 a month, giving them the option of renting instead of buying.

He proposed that, where people want to rent long term, these homes could be let to them at rates that would ultimately be tied to the consumer price index – the measure used for inflation. Mr Smyth pointed out that this would give people an option other than buying, leaving them with spare cash that they would spend in the general economy.

He also warned that negative coverage in the British media was damaging the country.

At the same conference, Tom Costelloe, managing director of Sisk, one of the Republic’s biggest building and civil engineering firms, said the construction industry is beginning to stabilise.