Just 3,000 homes on ex-Nama sites with capacity for 50,000

A ROW over the practice of property developers hoarding land during the housing shortage erupted last night after it emerged that just 3,000 homes had been built on sites acquired from Nama – sites which had the capacity for 50,000 new homes.

Speaking at the launch of Nama’s annual report yesterday, which revealed the agency made a €1.5billion profit last year, Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh said he couldn’t understand why developers were reluctant to build houses.

Mr McDonagh told RTÉ: ‘We have sold land that could potentially deliver 50,000 units since 2010, and only 6% of that, about 3,000 units, have actually been built on that land.’ He added: ‘I think there is something going on in the market, in terms of why people aren’t building. ’However, Catherine Murphy TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said the admission by Mr McDonagh highlighted the need for urgent reform at Nama and the ‘completely flawed role that it plays on housing supply’. She added: ‘Nama’s role should be changed. There is no point in Nama selling land off to the highest bidder and then complaining that it’s not being built on. Why on earth has Nama not set conditions to such land sales in the first place?’

Ms Murphy said her party had proposed legislation which would help to eradicate land-hoarding. She said: ‘The Urban Regeneration and Housing (Amendment) Bill would mean owners of vacant sites would face higher levies the longer the land remains undeveloped.’

Finance Minister Michael Noonan also attended yesterday’s report launch – and warned that ‘people who are sitting on land as an asset will find themselves sitting on a tax liability’.

Meanwhile, Nama chairman Frank Daly said that the agency had almost wiped out its debt. He said that later this year, Nama will ‘redeem the last €500million of its original €30.2billion of senior debt’.