Banks "do not accept what developers and their advisers tell us as being gospel" and are not fuelling the spectacularly high prices paid for land in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin, according to a senior banking executive.
"In relation to much talked-about site acquisitions in Dublin 4, we believe that developers are taking the lion's share of risk and can afford to do so," Owen O'Neill, director of lending for Ireland with Anglo Irish Bank, told a conference in Dublin.
He said banks provided funding "based on our own development appraisals following independent advice and making our own assumptions". These were based on factors such as location, demographics and transport infrastructure.
They also took account of a developer's track record and net worth, prevailing market conditions, prelets or presales, and sustainability. These were "all key determinants" in deciding whether to provide funding.
Mr O'Neill, who was speaking at the Vertical Boulevard conference, organised by the Irish Property and Facility Management Association (IPFMA), welcomed the new "realism" in the market, though he said this would make funding terms "less palatable".
The IPFMA was formed under the auspices of the Society of Chartered Surveyors in 1989.
Mr O'Neill told the conference that because of volatility in world capital markets, he believed demand "is likely to be more subdued and pace of growth will be less frenetic". But "fundamentals" in terms of securing bank funding would not change, even for high-rise, mixed-use schemes.
John Bruder, managing director of Treasury Holdings' Irish operations, said the trend towards high-rise buildings was being driven by the high prices for sites, but also by planning policies and market demand for more interesting urban precincts.
He said people now wanted a much wider range of amenities and facilities, rather than the "ghettoes and dead zones" they had been given in the past. However, he said there were challenges in designing and managing mixed-use schemes.
Mr Bruder said Treasury hoped to lodge a new planning application by the end of this year to redevelop Ballymun town centre. The scheme would provide 550 apartments, 300,000sq ft (27,870sq m) of retail space and 200,000sq ft (18,580sq m) of leisure facilities.
IPFMA chairman David O'Brien said the large sums of money paid for relatively small parcels of land in Ballsbridge "necessitates a strategy of vertical intensification, with innovative and landmark design criteria, coupled with a sustainable mix of uses".
Eric Kuhne, director of London-based design consultancy CivicArts, which is involved in planning the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, said developers needed to "give something back to the city, such as great public spaces", if they wanted to build higher.
Dr Brendan Williams, lecturer in the school of geography, planning and environmental economics at UCD, said the absence of integration in terms of transport and district-level facilities made higher-density residential schemes in Dublin "problematic".
He advocated a European model of medium-rise development, with local schools, facilities and services provided on time, including high-quality public transport by metro or tramways.
