Aidan Regan: How to stop the rot? Don’t treat housing as a financial asset

The cynical use of the Irish housing market to bolster the profits of global corporate empires is what has us in this bind. But we can get out of it if the state plays the same game, with a different aim

‘Investors are not just here to buy one-bed apartments to rent to Facebook workers. They’re here to buy any property that will command rental income’ Pic: Fergal Phillips

There are many fantastic assumptions and myths in the study of economics that often make their way into public policy. One of these is that Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) are a great way to democratise housing finance, and to enable small and hardworking households to invest their savings into property.

Rather than go through all the hassle of buying a property to rent out yourself, you can become a small shareholder in a Reit, ...