Mel Reynolds is a registered architect with more than 25 years experience in project management, conservation, urban design and developer-led housing. His recent Joint Oireachtas Committee submissions include papers on building control and costs in the residential sector and the re-use of vacant buildings. He is also a certified passive house designer.
Buy, hold or sell
Recent analysis has suggested a slowdown in the property sector for 2024, but what impact might a drop in inflation have? Mel Reynolds runs the numbers.
Is shared equity a bridge too far?
In the face of an affordability crisis, first time buyers of new homes are being offered a cocktail of incentives to help them get on the property ladder, including the government’s Help to Buy and First Home schemes. Mel Reynolds asks: are these the solution to the affordability crisis?
Quantity and quality - can it be done?
The spectre of high rise and reduced spacing between homes may cast a proverbial and literal shadow over new homes, if an anticipated government policy comes to pass. Mel Reynolds asks: could passive house offer a new route to achieving higher density without reaching for the skies?
Housing: turning problems into solutions for Ukrainian refugees
Our abundance of holiday homes and other vacant dwellings could be used to house Ukrainian refugees, writes Mel Reynolds.
Housing for who?
Despite an increase in the construction of new homes, the number available for first-time buyers and families to purchase is falling.
Housing for all: a plan in need of a story
Under its new housing plan, the government wants the state to acquire more land for housebuilding. But why has it failed to use the vast land banks it already owns? Mel Reynolds runs the rule over the figures.
What’s to show from four years of Rebuilding Ireland?
In 2017 the government promised it would deliver 50,000 homes over the next five years as part of its Rebuilding Ireland programme. But figures from the first four years show it has fallen well short, writes Mel Reynolds.
Planning for passive
It’s time to make the passive house standard a requirement of local development plans across Ireland, says Mel Reynolds.
Is affordable housing a policy blind spot?
Dublin City Council built just 45 social housing units in 2019. In his latest column, Mel Reynolds analyses the state’s surprising reluctance to build its own homes.
Are lower land values the silver lining of the crisis?
While the Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly caused a huge amount of human suffering and economic damage, it has brought some upsides too. Mel Reynolds speculates on how much land prices may fall, and what the positive and negative impacts may be.