Property & Finance
Price and value are not the same thing

By Michael O’Connor
To understand markets, you first have to realise that 'Price' and 'Value' are not the same thing.
The major indexes continued to trade relatively flat in recent days. The vast majority of Stocks struggled to eke out gains as a lack of clear market catalysts kept institutional investors on the sidelines, while retail traders fuelled the ongoing meme stocks rally. As social media hype pushes the likes of AMC, GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond 'to the moon,' the crypto market continues to trade in the opposite direction, with all major crypto names recording double-digit losses early in the week.
The short squeeze is back
Earlier this year, GameStop saw its share price run from $19 to $483 as the Reddit retail traders banded together to punish the wall street speculators. In recent weeks, the short squeeze is back in fashion. The new king of meme stocks is AMC Entertainment. Recently on the brink of bankruptcy, the movie theatre chain's stock is up more than 2,000% this year after another roller-coaster week.
While this phenomenon is hard to comprehend at times, in simple terms, the Internet has brought forth the age of virality, and the stock market is not immune.
Younger generations who grew up on the Internet are now having a significant impact on specific companies. Their risk tolerance seems to be much higher than previous generations, and their willingness to band together to support a viral trend knows no bounds.
While these short-term individual stock surges may not significantly impact markets over the longer term, the meme stock craze is here to stay as the gamification of investing becomes a powerful force in an era of social media dominance.
All this speculation raises a lot of questions from investors. Nervous onlookers wonder if markets are broken, worried about how such 'mindless risk' can undermine the validity of the market as the 'meme stock vigilantes' blatantly disregard traditional valuation metrics.
All this recent 'mispricing' has highlighted one of the most common investing misconceptions.
To understand markets, you first have to realise that 'Price' and 'Value' are not the same thing.
Value is driven by cash flows, growth and risk. Of course, you can disagree about what those cash flows look like or how they are calculated, but the fundamental drivers of value remain the same.
Price, on the other hand, is simple economics 101. Demand vs. Supply. What drives demand and supply is typically mood and momentum. As a result, stock prices do not have to make rational sense at any one moment in time as they are driven by a myriad of human emotions.
Mood and momentum
For me, the current market conditions are reflective of a pricing market being driven by mood and momentum. That isn't to say that this is necessarily a bad thing. Markets will always reflect human behaviour in some form, and sometimes this behaviour will be more pronounced as price and value push in different directions.
This recent price volatility doesn't mean you have to change to momentum and memes when selecting your next investment. While the FOMO can be unbearable at times. The truth is, the value factors of cash flows, growth and risk are what ultimately drive markets over the longer term.
For more investing insights visit www.theislandinvestor.com.
News
Cost of agricultural land set to increase by 8% this year
By Ted Healy of DNG TED HEALY The results of a survey on agricultural land values conducted by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) was published earlier this week. […]

By Ted Healy of DNG TED HEALY
The results of a survey on agricultural land values conducted by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) was published earlier this week.
It predicts an increase in land values by an average of 8% this year and an increase of 14% on average in rental values.
The report titled, ‘SCSI/Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review & Outlook Report 2023’, analyses the agri sector performance over the past year and projects how it will perform over the next 12 months.
In all 134 agri professionals and valuers were surveyed, who expect the outlook for dairy farmers to ease and a challenging future for sheep and tillage farming.
Rental Land values in Munster increased by an average of 13% in the last year with a 9% increase experienced in Leinster.
The report indicates that the average non-residential farmland prices in 2022 ranged from €5,564 per acre for poor quality land – up five percent from €5,308 in 2021 – to €11,172 per acre for good quality land – up two percent from €10,962 the previous year. Strong demand from dairy farmers for good quality land is driving the market.
The majority of those surveyed believe there is likely to be an increase in demand from dairy farmers to purchase farmland in 2023.
One point to note however, is that changes to the European Nitrates Directive, particularly measures aimed at protecting water quality, may have an impact on land prices, especially rental prices.
In order to maintain current levels of milk production – and to comply with the directive – many dairy farms will need to either increase their land area or reduce milk production.
The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is also coming down the line at an alarming rate, farmers have until May 1 to make a written appeal. Under the new legislation farmers owning currently zoned land face an annual tax bill of 3% of the market value of their zoned land.
This will result in countless numbers of landowners facing crippling tax bills from next year on. It is expected that this new tax may bring forward extra land sales later this year before the tax takes hold.
The IFA (Irish Farmers Association) have this week sought a senior counsel review of the legislation governing the Residential Zoned Land Tax.
News
What is a Fire Safety Certificate?
By John Healy of Healy Insurances A Fire Safety Certificate is an official document that verifies if a building design submitted as part of an application will, if constructed in […]

By John Healy of Healy Insurances
A Fire Safety Certificate is an official document that verifies if a building design submitted as part of an application will, if constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by the Building Control Authority, comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations.
Fire Safety Certificates are issued by a Building Control Authority. The certificate confirms that the building has adequate escape facilities and that the building is designed in a way that prevents and limits the spread of fire. While all buildings must comply with the fire regulations, not all buildings will need a Fire Safety Certificate.
Which developments require a Fire Safety Certificate?
The Building Control Act (1990 & 2007) specifies the development types that require Fire Safety Certificates:
· Works in connection with the design and construction of a new building
· Works in connection with the material alteration of a day centre, a building containing a flat, a hotel, hostel or guest building, an institutional building, a place of assembly, a shopping centre
· Works in connection with the material alteration of a shop, office or industrial building where additional floor area is being provided within the existing building or where the building is being sub-divided into a number of units for separate occupancy
· Works in connection with the extension of a building by more than 25 square metres
· A building as regards which a material change of use takes place.
Some developments are exempted from requiring a Fire Certificate and can include:
· Certain single storey agricultural buildings
· A building used as a dwelling (other than a flat)
· A single storey domestic garage
· A single storey building ancillary to a dwelling which is used exclusively for recreational or storage purposes or the keeping of plants, birds or animals for domestic purposes and is not used for any trade or business or for human habitation
· Works in connection with a Garda station, a courthouse, a barracks and certain government buildings.
If a building is inspected by a member of the building control authority and it transpired that no Fire Safety Certificate is in place, the building could be subject to closure. For more information see www.kerrycoco.ie/home3/building-control/firesafetycerts.