asked the Minister for the Environment if he considers the 13 per cent rise in the price of second-hand houses during the first four months of this year to have been in the public interest; and if he intends to adopt any new measures to halt the upward spiral in house prices.
Written Answers . - House Prices .
79.
: The latest official figures on prices of second-hand houses, published in the Quarterly Bulletin of Housing Statistics for the quarter ended 3 March 1978 show that the average gross price of second-hand houses for which loans were approved by the leading lending agencies during the first quarter of this year were 8 per cent higher than the average for 1977. Obviously, any increases in such prices substantially over and above the rate of inflation are a cause for concern.
As regards the final part of the question, I would refer the Deputy to paragraphs 5.19 and 5.20 of the Green Paper on Development for Full Employment.