Ghost Estate
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A ghost estate (, "
Fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
estate") is an unoccupied
housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...
, particularly one built in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
during the period of economic growth when the Irish economy was known as the
Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" () is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by ...
. A massive surplus of housing, combined with the
late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
, resulted in a large number of estates being abandoned, unoccupied or uncompleted. The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis defines a ghost estate as developments of "ten or more houses where 50% of the properties are either vacant or under-construction", which therefore does not fully cover the total number of unfinished estates. In 2010 there were more than 600 ghost estates in Ireland, and a government agency report estimated the number of empty homes in Ireland at greater than 300,000. The 2011 Census lists the number of empty homes to be around 230,000 (excluding the 60,000 holiday homes), around 26% of which are apartments, despite the fact that only 11% of the occupied homes are apartments. Of the 230,000 empty homes in the 2011 census, around 10% of these were in ghost estates. In November 2013, the number of vacant units in unfinished estates was 6,350. As at December 2014 there were 5,563 vacant homes in unfinished estates, however this figure is revised down to 4,453 homes (in the report for unfinished housing developments) as the difference is 1,110 vacant homes in estates no longer deemed to be unfinished. This means that the number of vacant homes in unfinished estates in 2014 had decreased by 30% in one year. The report for 2015 lists the number of vacant homes in unfinished estates to be 2,542. Vacant homes do not include derelict houses and homes under construction.


Republic of Ireland

In October 2010, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government reported, using a restricted brief, that there were 33,000 complete or nearly complete empty homes after a national audit and that there were a further 10,000 homes at various stages of construction. The phrase was introduced by journalist and economist David McWilliams when describing the Irish property bubble in 2006. It was used as the title of a poetry collection by Irish writer William Wall in 2011. The government-funded
research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...
, the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) defines a ghost estate as "a development of ten houses or more in which fifty per cent or less of homes are occupied or completed". During Ireland's economic boom, which began in the mid-1990s and lasted until 2007, local government incentives, an influx of labour from Eastern Europe and abundant, easily available consumer credit combined with house price inflation in Dublin, resulted in a large number of housing estates being built in
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
s and villages surrounding the country's capital. As the boom continued, tax incentives were offered under the Rural Renewal Tax Incentives Scheme to encourage developers to build in smaller towns and rural areas further from Dublin, in counties including
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
,
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
and
Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...
. In 2008, it was reported that Irish banks had lent 25 billion
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
to builders and property developers for the construction of apartments and houses. Estimates on the number of empty houses varies widely. In October 2008, it was estimated that Ireland had up to 50,000 homes – a year's supply – sitting vacant. A new survey in January 2009 suggested a surplus of at least 100,000 homes, although the Construction Industry Federation, a body representing the Irish construction industry, quoted a surplus of around 35,000. A further study, conducted by NIRSA in January 2010 produced data showing there were more than 300,000 vacant new homes in Ireland, and 621 ghost estates. Additionally, many of the estates are in areas where the number of homes built greatly exceeds the number required, and which are too far from major employment centres;
County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
, for example, has a housing surplus of 401%. The Construction Industry Federation states a figure of 40,000 empty homes, while the Housing Minister
Michael Finneran Michael Finneran (born 10 September 1947) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2008 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2011 and ...
told the Cabinet that the number was between 100,000 and 140,000, although a government spokesperson later said that the number was "not precise" and that they did not "have an exact figure". The exact number of unused or incomplete houses is unknown; a nationwide audit is currently being undertaken, with the results due in Summer 2010. In 2009, the Irish government announced that it would invest €20m in long-term leases for houses in ghost estates which would be used to decrease the waiting list for
social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
, a plan criticised by some housing associations, who pointed out the lack of schools and services available to those living on the estates. Minister Michael Finneran had earlier said that the government would not purchase empty houses in ghost estates to add to its social housing programme. The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), a body created in 2009 by the government to act as a '' bad bank'' which will take on non-performing assets owned by Irish banks for land and property development deals, may acquire many ghost estates, even if the developer remains
solvent A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...
. Commentators have suggested that local authorities may be encouraged to purchase some of the surplus housing. Every family on Ireland's waiting list for social housing could be accommodated in unused housing, with "hundreds of thousands left over". However some estates lack infrastructure such as roads and lighting, and have no access to schools and other amenities, and have been described as having, "no potential to be economically viable." In April 2010,
Ciarán Cuffe Ciarán Cuffe (born 3 April 1963) is an Irish politician who has been co-chair of the European Green Party (EGP) since December 2024. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency from July 2019 ...
, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, announced that the government may force housing developers to bulldoze unfinished estates on which they cannot complete work. When the government introduced a household charge in the 2012 budget, a list of 1,321 "unfinished housing estates" were exempted from the charge.


Northern Ireland

Due to the heavy presence of the
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...
in the Northern Irish economy and its presence in the United Kingdom sterling area the housing bubble in Northern Ireland was considerably reduced. In spite of that, however, the Housing Executive estimated in August 2011 that there were up to 5,000 unfinished homes in Northern Ireland, though ghost estates themselves are rare.


Outside Ireland

Ghost estates are not restricted to Ireland. There have been many apartments and other residential areas that were constructed during the 2000s that were never occupied or finished in Spain before its economy collapsed. The United States also has experienced similar effects during its housing bubble. Many unoccupied homes have been torn down. Due to the economic slowdown in China, the effects of ghost estates are taking shape. After its stable economic growth from the early 1990s to the early 2010s, the Chinese economy has slowed down. Projects such as new neighbourhoods (such as the Chenggong District), shopping malls, and even theme parks are empty and/or incomplete because of the economic slowdown. This situation has been compared to Ireland and Spain.


See also

* Chinese property bubble (2005–2011) * Irish property bubble


References


External links


Shadowland
– Exhibition which examines Ireland's built environment in relation to the economic crisis {{coord missing, Ireland Economy of the Republic of Ireland Real estate bubbles of the 2000s