Sir, - Vincent McGauran (February 23rd) bemoans the fact that on his retirement last year, his lump sum scarcely amounted to a deposit for a house in the current Irish property market. He is right to worry.
Manhattan is the second most expensive location in the USA. Its population is about that of Dublin but it is squeezed into an area smaller than Dun Laoghaire. Salaries here are considerably higher and taxation is lower. Despite this, apartments in Manhattan's highly desirable Upper East Side are cheaper than those of a similar size in Ringsend.
South East Asia, the basis for our sad cliche "Celtic Tiger", now has become a sick kitten. Those who bought property in Singapore during the boom of the early 1990s have lost at least 40 per cent of their outlay and many still have negative equity in their homes.
Sit on your nest-egg, Mr. McGauran, and wait. - Yours, etc.,
Bob Frewen, New York, USA.