The total Government package announced on 23 April, including the taxation elements contained in the Finance (No. 2) Act, must be assessed by reference to the policy goals set out at that time. The goals which the Government identified are: to increase the supply of serviced land; to reduce excess investor demand; and to assist ordinary house purchasers, thus defusing the house price spiral and increasing the affordability of housing.
At this stage, it is too early to measure the effectiveness of the Government package. However, early indications, based on recent media reports, suggest that recent residential units coming to the market are being purchased almost exclusively by owner-occupiers, whereas in the past a substantial percentage of such units would have been sold to investors. The impact of these measures will be kept under review both by my Department and the Department of the Environment and Local Government.