Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned in regard to valuations. All of the witnesses know as professionals that if a person has a four-bedroomed semi-detached house in the south Dublin suburbs and its rental value is €2,000 a month, the market value of that house, unless it comes from a Crombie wearing, clipboard holding loo-lah estate agent, is €360,000. How do we arrive at that? Well, €2,000 a month is €24,000 a year, multiplied by 15 - a 7% yield - is €360,000. We could look at it another way. If it is an owner-occupier, the likely income of that family will be approximately €75,000. Three times that income is approximately €220,000. If we add in another half of an income it comes to €250,000. Therefore, it is nonsense for any banker to listen to estate agents or Member of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, MIAVI, who say they believe the house is now worth €600,000.