ONE OF THE stars of the new homes market Ross McParland is stepping aside from his role in Sherry FitzGerald New Homes to allow his nephew Ivan Gaine to take over as managing director.

Ross, who has filled the role for 25 years, is to become executive chairman at the company he founded in the 1980s and sold to Mark FitzGerald’s empire at the height of the property boom.

One of the most astute advisors on the new homes market over the years, he steered many of the leading developers through the peaks and troughs of the market. He is widely acknowledged for his skilful reading of the market and, happily, he will continue to advise in his new role as executive chairman of Sherry Fitz’s new homes business. The choice of Ivan Gaine as his successor was widely expected. The 29-year-old chartered surveyor first joined DTZ Sherry FitzGerald on a graduate programme back in 1999, later transferring to new homes in 2004.

Speaking at the announcement, Mark FitzGerald said: “Our new structure will allow Ross’s undoubted property acumen and knowledge to be even more readily available to clients. It also gives an opportunity for one of our key younger directors to take on a significant management role at a good time in his career.”

The job is likely to be an uphill struggle for a while with the new homes sector hardest hit from the fall off in sales despite substantially lower prices. Gaine will have to work out a strategy to bring growth back to the market as soon it reaches the floor. The lack of mortgage finance is continuing to hammer the market. Sherry Fitz has managed to hold its new homes team together at a time when other agencies have cut the tripes out of theirs. If it can hold onto its people, it will be well placed when the market rebounds.