Daft Property - Irish Property News

Ariel View of Dublin's Stephens Green: Story from www. ireland.com - Saturday, 26th April, 2008: " Plans for the Metro North line entail excavating a large section of St Stephen's Green at huge cost. But some are questioning the wisdom of using the Green as a transport hub, and worry that the work will forever alter the character of the park. Frank McDonald Environment Editor reports. On November 1st, 2005, at the Government's fanfare launch of its €34 billion Transport 21 investment programme, then minister for transport Martin Cullen announced that St Stephen's Green would become the capital's key transport hub. "It will be to Dublin what Grand Central is to New York," he said. A discreet veil was drawn over the environmental impact of this radical proposal, particularly on the much-loved park that was given to the people of Dublin in 1880 by Sir Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun, under an Act of Parliament entrusting its long-term care to the C

I read in the Irish Independent today that in Dublin's Temple Bar, once a property hotspot, that..." prices are beginning to drop: a spacious second floor, period-style one-bed, renovated 15 years ago on Parliament Street, with views of the Liffey and the evening sun, has been on the market for two months and the price is down from €365,000 to €345,000. At the Friary, off the cobblestones on Fownes Street, a one-bedroom west-facing apartment over Luigi Malone's restaurant is €410,000, but expected to drop. In Temple Bar Square, the quarter's heartbeat, a two-bedroom apartment, with access to a precious roof terrace and views of the city's skyline has been on the market a year and is available for €450,000. In the tenant zone, plans are in the early stages to refurbish and upgrade some of derelict Crampton Court apartments with its little garden, car-parking spacess and views overlooking the Liffey. And to rent? Despite so few properties being available, bites are s

I like this: 'Dublin's Liffey Quays' in 2032 is part of IMAGEN Architects winning entry to a competition run by Architecture Ireland / Plan Expo. IMAGEN's proposal for the Liffey Quays 2032 was to consider the River Liffey as a green urban spine to the expanding city. The Quays would become vehicle free, except for carbon-free public transport systems, which would reinvent the Quays as a series of major public spaces, pocket parks and 'green bridges'. Hueston Station and Croppy's Acre would become the Quay's western gateway. Dublin's 'little Venice' allows the city to step down to the water's edge. O'Connell Bridge would now become a new public space connecting the city as an urban plaza and meeting place. The Docklands reinvents itself as a new international transportation hub. This would facilitate future high speed rail connections to Belfast and possibly the UK, alongside an expanding business district. The Docks would become a &#

www.daft.ie - Quarter 1 2008 Irish property figures are out - and according to today's Irish Independent Newspaper, we are in the middle of major Property price crash! There has been widespread price drops across the country and the trend looks set to continue for the foreseeable future... "ASKING prices for houses in some of the country's most affluent areas have plummeted by a massive 7pc in the space of just three months, according to a new survey published today. The report reveals property prices in the leafy suburbs of south county Dublin tumbled by an average of €40,000, or 6pc, in the first quarter of 2008. In Co Wicklow, prices also took a dramatic nose dive of more than €35,000 (7pc). The average price for a house in south county Dublin now stands at €649,383. Asking prices in Co Wicklow dropped to €445,681, the new survey by Daft.ie has found. Nationwide, the property slump caused asking prices to fall by 1.2pc. The drop is in sharp contrast to late 2007, when a

This is another favourite site of mine... The Best Dublin Ireland Live Webcam ...This is really excellent! See Ireland via live streaming video.... The Webcam features top Dublin sights, like the Ha'Penny Bridge, The Customs House, River Liffey, O'Connell Bridge as well as IFSC (Irish Financial Service Centre) and the new boardwalk on Bachelors Walk & a lot more. You gotta love it!

One of my favourite sites about what's happening with the Irish Property scene is The Property Pin - thepropertypin.com. "... thepropertypin.com was established to discuss the existence of a damaging speculative price bubble in the Irish housing market" ... The Property Pin is " not here to cheerlead the crash but rather to illuminate, to provide balanced discussion and to help prevent another property bubble from occurring in the future." A great forum - well worth a visit!

Bubble, bubble, toil & trouble... With the major slow down in house sales, in Ireland, sellers are starting to get a bit creative: I see that houses in the Alderwood development at Hollystown, in Dublin 15, come with a free Volvo C30 Car! The houses, priced from a mere €480,000, are being promoted by McPeake Auctioneers who say: ..."we are delighted to announce that purchasers will receive a brand new stylish C30 Volvo car with their new home. The Volvo C30 is a flexi-fuel luxury car and is the smarter choice for the environment making it the perfect inclusion in a new life style choice..." Makes you wonder what's being promoted - the houses or the car? So what if everyone in the development has the same type of car, might look a bit odd alright, but would anyone buy a house in the first place just because they were getting a free car thrown in???!

Bertie Ahern has announced his decision to resign as leader of the country. " Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern earned his nickname the "Teflon Taoiseach" for his uncanny ability to survive personal and political scandals, scandals which would have toppled a less gifted politician... One of his mentors was the disgraced former Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who took millions of pounds from businessmen. He called Mr Ahern "the most cunning, the most ruthless, the most devious of them all"... As Taoiseach, Mr Ahern presided over an economic boom - the so-called "Celtic Tiger" - which has seen Ireland transformed from a largely poor, rural, agricultural country into a prosperous nation, with job opportunities attracting immigrants from all over the world. But the economy, largely based on an unprecedented property boom, has shown signs of flagging for the past year or two, while Ahern has been at the centre of a long-running probe into payments which he alle

Bargain time again... This time it's in Smithfield, Dublin City Centre, where Chief O'Neill's is up for sale at €18 million - that's a whopping €3m price reduction from the previous price tag of €21 million in 2007! The modern 77-room hotel is well situated overlooking Smithfield Square, (or Plaza as it's now know,) in the heart of Dublin City. The Jameson Distillery tower is included in the sale. It was originally used to distill Ireland’s famous Jameson Whiskey (from 1895), the chimney, with its 360°panoramic views is now a popular tourist attraction. It has some spectacular views over Dublin city, port and surrounding Dublin & Wicklow Mountains. A nice buy!