Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Revenue that the 395 properties referred to in Parliamentary Question No. 359 of 17 January 2024 relate to information input by taxpayers on Section 31E returns filed for the year 2022.

Section 31E refers to a Stamp Duty rate of 10% on cumulative purchases of ten or more houses in a 12-month period and is provided for in section 31E of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, as introduced by the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021. The figure of 395 properties calculated by Revenue only includes cases where taxpayers declared the purchase of 10 or more residential properties within the 12-month period.

I am further advised by the CSO that table HPA12 refers to Market-based Non-Household Transactions of Residential Dwellings. CSO data indicate that, in 2022, a total of 2,053 houses were purchased by non-Household entities that fall into the NACE categories of Financial & Insurance (K) and Real Estate (L). The total includes all Market-based purchases and would not be limited to only those in respect of which a Stamp Duty rate of 10% was payable.

It is important to note that the same CSO data indicates that while 2,053 houses were purchased by Finance and Insurance or Real Estate entities in 2022, over twice as many houses were sold by these sectors in the same period.

While the Financial & Insurance and Real Estate sectors are used as a proxy for institutional investors, the Financial & Insurance sector is a broad category that includes banks, trusts, funds and holding companies. Not all of these entities would be considered institutional investors. Therefore the total number of purchases in this category may not all be institutional investors.