Summary
- Cash buyers, mostly overseas investors, are purchasing apartments with defects as banks are unwilling to lend to mortgage-approved buyers for such properties
- Apartments built between 1991 and 2013 that do not comply with fire regulations or have defects are being sold exclusively to cash buyers at reduced prices
- The Government has pledged a €2.5 billion scheme to fix defective apartments, but it is not expected to be operational until next year
- Prospective first-time buyers are being locked out of purchasing affected apartments due to bank concerns