Most of Ireland's leading house-builders are moving offshore today, not to hide their profits but to attend their annual conference in Edinburgh. It is the first time the annual get together of the Irish Home Builders Association is being held outside the country and, not surprisingly, it has been a sell-out for months. Three specially chartered Aer Lingus jets will bring the delegates and their partners to and from the new Scottish capital.

As always, the emphasis will be more on golf and gossip than on site densities or deals because with the industry due to produce only half of the 20,000 homes needed in the greater Dublin area this year, prices seem set to go on rising. By all accounts, there appears to be a bigger profit margin in apartments than in houses judging by the sharp swing towards apartment schemes in the city. In the first four months of this year, 1,841 apartments were completed compared to only 671 in the same period of 1999. New house sales dropped from 1,844 to 1,608, despite the pent-up demand from first-time buyers.