Originally Posted by
pcred
I agree, although the builders did make a vast sums during the boom, this was enabled by the banks overselling mortgages and dictating land prices to builders, and the councils/planners allowing huge developments that in hind site should never been allowed.
I'll give an example of where the bank tried to drive up the price of land just before the arse fell out of the property bubble:
Builder A has large areas of land in Co. Dublin and trying to sell off a portion of it for €20 million the bank wouldn't release the charges on it because they said it was being sold for less than its market value. Now after the slump the same undevelloped land would be doing well to fetch one million, and Nama are after builder A.
Not naming people, banks or areas for privacy reason, but that is true.