If slow and steady wins the race, the implementation of a Statewide Auto-Enrolment (AE) pension system has been under consideration in Ireland since 2006 may prove to be the undisputed champion! The Minister for Social Protection published the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024 on 5 April 2024. The Minister is targeting introduction for early 2025.

World economic growth was better than expected in 2023 and inflation fell at a quicker pace than forecast at the start of last year. However, there was a marked contrast in the growth performances of the major economies. National output was strong in the United States throughout the whole of 2023 helped by healthy consumer spending, with households continuing to deplete the excess savings that were run up during the pandemic.

The first quarter of 2024 has seen Europe's real estate market navigating through a landscape marked by cautious optimism. Following a downward trend since Q3 2022, the sector is adjusting to a transition toward a higher baseline rate environment and adapting to the implications of increased inflation. With a corresponding higher baseline inflation level, real estate investment strategies need to, and importantly now, are adjusting to that new normal.