and so if inflation is running at what 5%(?) then you are already down 2.5% in real terms, not to mention the 200 per month that could be better invested. I dont think the population boom will last much longer as the work has dried up and apparently some of the eastern europeans are already on the move. (The next census should be interesting)...I'm afraid that buying into the mantra of property only rising will cost you in the long term...at the moment you are basically losing money by renting the apt for cheap ( i would love to be your tenant, they are propbably investing their savings wisely at your expense)...
Have you accounted for
1. Properties for rent increasing - rental prices coming down/unable to secure tenants due to population decrease/not rising.
2. House Prices not increasing but dropping/standing still in the medium 5-10 years?
3. Interest rates increasing not decreasing as only Mr. Hughes or Mr. Parlon would have you believe.
I think you may have been better off visiting the casino...it would be more fun and wouldnt drag out over the next decade or two...
Take the most dynamic cities across the US;
http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/20/real_estate/fastest_growing_cities/index.htm
Most of them are smaller than Dublin..and dublin is up there in growth rates. But unlike most of the fastest growing cities, young economic migrants arriving instead of retired baby boomers and the workforce that follows them.
Along with London, and a handful of other fast groawing cities in Europe Dublin has to be up there with the best of them. And current economic downturn aside (which we will come out of in a while) there is no reason not to expect Dublin to experience continued growth.
We get more migrants per capita than any other country and have the second highest fertility rates in Europe. Take someone living in small town Poland listening to the news, they here alot about Ireland and the positive exeriences alot of immigrants are having here. This is the land of opportunity for alot of people that are making their fortunes, who otherwise would have had no opportunities at home.
And before you suggest them going back home...most of the eastern european economies are like a crappy car driving at speed without good brakes, a crash and they are finished. They are just managed badly and the recent boom has covered that up.
Having Lived in the US for some time it's interesting to see how we react to down turns comared to them. They expect them as naturally as the seasons and expect to come out of them. We will too, and are better placed to do so than most with one of the most globalised economies in the world.
Less of the overblown pessimism please, or at least try and back it up well..