Shares in housebuilder Cairn Homes advanced as much as 3.13 per cent on the Irish stock exchange on Tuesday. The gain to €1.75 per share was the stock's steepest rise since the end of August, and came after Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced measures designed to help housebuilders.
Among the budget announcements was a scheme to refund commercial stamp duty to purchasers of residential sites, and changes to the vacant sites levy, which penalises landowners for hoarding sites.
The Government also said it would make €750 million available for new home construction.
As Cairn gained other companies with a greater focus on commercial property dropped on Ireland’s benchmark index, with Irish Residential Properties REIT, Green REIT and Hibernia REIT falling by between 0.61 per cent and 1.37 per cent on strong volume.
A note from Goodbody analyst Colm Lauder said the Government's policy intervention whereby it upped stamp duty would have a "negative impact on valuations in 2017".
