Daft Property - Irish Property News

House prices go into reverse as property register takes guesswork out of buying... HOUSE prices fell last month in a move that reverses rises in the previous three months. The fall of 0.6pc in October means that prices have now risen in five of the 10 months of this year so far.  The value of the average property in the State is now half of what it was during the peak in the market in 2007. Dublin prices were down 0.2pc in October, and are 7pc lower in the year so far. Residential property prices in the capital are 56pc lower than they were when the market was at its highest, according to the CSO index. Prices outside of Dublin were down 0.9pc last month, and are now down 47pc from the peak. Some property experts said the introduction of the new property price register in September prompted falls in prices, as people can now seen exactly what prices houses and apartments are selling for, rather than relying on estate agents. The average value of a property nationally is

How the great Irish fairy tale hides the true horror story... Gene Kerrigan's new book presents an alternative view of the economic crisis, suggesting that some people are actually benefiting from austerity policies. We've been subjected to the Big Lie. We are not all in this together, as this extract reveals By now, they can recite the fairy tale in their sleep. Politicians, their media fans, tame economists and hired mouthpieces use the fairy tale to explain what happened. Like all stories, the details can be changed from time to time, but the basic fairy tale about the Celtic Bubble, the crash and the recession is pretty consistent. And it goes like this. Once upon a time, the Irish people threw off the shackles of the past that held us back. We began to work hard, to innovate, to find within us the talents we always had but which had been suppressed or neglected for too long. In the bad old days, you see, the Brits held us back, or perhaps the Catholic Church sti

The term ghost estates colloquially refers to the list of 2,000 unfinished housing developments  compiled by the Department of the Environment. Dublin doesn’t do too badly in the 2011 rankings with 95 estates identified in the city council area, compared to 149 in neighbouring Fingal. The other two Dublin councils also returned quite positive figures; Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has 60 unfinished developments and South Dublin County Council 50. It’s clear the capital has escaped lightly when some of the numbers recorded in sparsely populated counties are considered. Sligo has 237 unfinished developments, Roscommon has 235. Dublin also has a low number of estates considered the most problematic. These are the developments where residents’ living conditions are such that they are not required to pay the household charge, generally where the developer has abandoned the unfinished estate. Only 19 estates in the city council area are on this list. Elm Park was on the depa

THE CHOICE of investment properties available to Irish and overseas buyers is steadily increasing with the launch today of a marketing campaign for an entire development of 62 apartments and penthouses next to the North Circular Road entrance to the Phoenix Park in Dublin 7. David Browne of agent HT Meagher O’Reilly is seeking €9 million for the high quality scheme which was completed 12 years ago by Tony Gannon’s Unicorn Homes. The investment will show a net yield of 7.78 per cent. The broad mix of apartments in Park Lodge are fully occupied and are producing a rent roll of €823,000 per annum. The location has proved extremely popular from the start – beside the Phoenix Park and five minutes walk from the Luas at Heuston Station which travels past the Four Courts to the city centre. The five-storey apartment block is also a few hundred yards from the newly-built Criminal Courts of Justice on Infirmary Road. Park Lodge was developed on the site of the old Park Lodge Hotel, onc

Parknasilla sells for over €10 million to overseas investor... LESS THAN seven weeks after being offered for sale, the Parknasilla Resort Spa in Co Kerry has been taken off the market after a satisfactory offer was received by selling agent Savills. An overseas buyer is understood to have offered in excess of the guide price of €10 million for the four-star resort which is being sold on behalf of Bank of Scotland (Ireland). The Sneem hotel was bought six years ago by property developer Bernard McNamara for almost €40 million. He subsequently spent at least €30 million on enlarging and upgrading the resort and building 62 self-catering lodges and villas in the grounds. Tom Barrett of Savills said the sale had attracted over 100 inquiries, most of them overseas hotel groups and investors. Savills is also close to wrapping up the sale of the Cork International Airport Hotel, also owned by McNamara. An overseas buyer is to pay over €5 million for the facility which was devel

Reality of the market has yet to hit property brochures... It’s almost  the end of 2012  and let’s face it, the property market is all about reality these days…some would say grim reality so why haven’t some estate agents tempered the grandiose  language in their brochures to reflect the general mood, one wonders?  It’s supposed to be a new era of transparency following the introduction of the  Property Services Regulation Act 2011 so shouldn’t that involve a rethink on the adjective  count  in the average brochure? Take for example the use, or misuse,  of the word “residence”  which seems to apply to  the  pokiest townhouse and  modest three-bed semi. While referring to a small house as a residence  isn’t wrong exactly, it is a tad misleading, or it would be if you couldn’t see the photos. Maybe the hope is if they use the word often enough it will subliminally trick the buyer into thinking  they are buying Downton Abbey . There seems to be a brochure  template that some agen

Has the property market truly bottomed out? And not only that, but showing some signs of life? Well yes and no. Very encouraging signs are there for all to see. The newspaper property supplements are less anaemic and signs proclaiming "Sold" which have been as rare as hens' teeth are suddenly being seen in some of the better Dublin enclaves. Agricultural land is making record prices. And there are tentative signs that if potential buyers can survive a searching examination of their finances -- now so intimate that it would shame a proctologist -- there are mortgages being approved. Even property auctions, a leit-motif of the halcyon days of the boom, are making a re-appearance after a five-year absence. While there are huge tracts of the country where the residential property market is still on life support there are at least some signs elsewhere that suggest the patient is out of intensive care. Recovery has started in Dublin, not all of the capital, but in the areas

New blow for house price hopes as market set to fall 60pc from 2007 peak... HOPES of property prices settling down have received a new blow, with a prediction that values will plunge by 60pc from the peak. Prices have already halved, but now credit ratings agency Fitch said they are set to keep falling. A fall of 60pc from 2007 would mean the average house price falling to €125,600 from €314,000 at the peak. There had been some optimism in the last few weeks that prices could be reaching a floor, particularly in Dublin. But the latest official figures show that property prices fell in June, dashing hopes that the market was close to stabilising. The fall of 1.1pc in prices in June recorded by the Central Statistics Office reversed a rise that was recorded in the previous month. Prices have halved from the peak of the market almost five years ago. The CSO figures indicate that the average home is now priced at €156,000, having collapsed to half of its value since the boom that came a

Next big hot potato is property tax of up to €1,000... There's little hope of a property tax being fair and equitable on the already squeezed middle classes, says Daniel McConnell. Can you afford to pay €1,000 a year in a property tax? Well, according to the man charged with designing such a tax, that is what we will, on average, all pay once it is introduced. Don Thornhill, a career civil servant who describes himself now as a consultant "who advises on strategy and policy to a number of leading Irish organisations" has recently presented his report to Minister Phil Hogan recommending how such a property tax should work. Politically toxic and highly unpopular, the lack of enthusiasm of either Fine Gael or Labour to discuss the matter is a clear sign of the trepidation that surrounds the idea of lumping the extra burden on the shoulders of the Irish taxpayer, but in particular the "squeezed middle classes". Phil Hogan's department is saying nothing othe

Property price register pushed out until late September... THE LONG-AWAITED property price register, detailing the sale price of residential properties here, looks like it’s now going to miss its expected summer deadline. Despite being eagerly anticipated by estate agents, homeowners and buyers, and a recent call from the head of Nama to develop a commercial equivalent, the property price register has yet to materialise. So why the delay? The property price database first made the headlines in early 2010 and since then there has been much talk but little action. In December of last year, the register was provided for by legislation, and at the time, it was understood that the register would appear six months later. However, according to Tom Lynch, chief executive of the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA), the register was never going to be ready for June, despite this date being widely reported at the time. “I never said it was June,” he says, adding that the register was s

Russians ride in to rescue Irish apartments in Bulgaria... UP TO 50 Irish-owned apartments in Bulgaria have been bought by Russian property prospectors in the first six months of this year, a Dublin-based property business has said. An estimated 30,000 Irish citizens currently sit on more than €1bn of bad property investments in Bulgaria. Dylan Cullen, head of Appreciating Assets, said growing demand from the former Soviet country for the Bulgarian resorts means Irish people are finally able to offload their unwanted properties. Since the peak of the Bulgarian property-buying frenzy, from 2005 to 2008, Black Sea prices have fallen by between 35pc and 45pc, depending on location. But the Russians and Ukrainians, the two biggest buyer groups, have formed a view that this market looks to be near the bottom. Buyers are back looking at the Black Sea for holiday homes. "The Russians are becoming wealthier and as their middle class expands they want holiday homes," said Mr Cullen.

State bad loans agency NAMA has decided for the first time to demolish a derelict apartment block it owns. The apartment block -- in the Gleann Riada estate on the outskirts of Longford town -- comprises 12 unsold units that are in disrepair. It is understood another half a dozen NAMA-controlled ghost estates will be knocked down before the end of the year as the loans agency returns half-built houses and apartments to green areas. NAMA controls about 280 unfinished developments, some 10pc of the total. Local Fine Gael councillor Peggy Nolan said the Gleann Riada development was "Longford's Priory Hall", referring to the apartment complex in north Dublin that had to be evacuated last year due to shoddy building work. Residents of the Longford estate have staged a long campaign to have their development properly completed. The unoccupied apartment block at the entrance to the development has also been vandalised. There are 90 houses on the estate on Strokestown Road that

Number of mortgages in arrears hits new peak of 14pc... ONE in seven mortgage holders is now in arrears, according to calculations by a leading ratings agency. Large numbers of these homeowners are understood to be avoiding getting into talks with their banks on restructuring their mortgages. Moody's also said house prices would fall another 20pc. The rating agency said its calculations show 14pc of residential mortgage holders are now in arrears, which works out at 107,000 households. This is a new peak, it said. Figures released by the Central Bank last month showed 10.2pc of mortgage holders were three months or more behind on their payments. "The steep decline in house prices since 2007 has placed the majority of borrowers deep into negative equity," it said. "Irish house prices have already fallen by 49.9pc between September 2007 and April 2012, and Moody's expects that house prices will fall a further 20pc from today's levels." Central Bank figu

IRISH house prices are expected to fall by another 20pc, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Services. The report states that house prices have fallen by 49.9pc between September 2007 and April 2012. ''Moody's expects that house prices will fall a further 20pc from today's levels (bringing the aggregate peak-to-trough fall to 60pc)," it added. It added that the majority of Irish homeowners are now “deep into negative equity.” And it also said that he performance of Irish prime residential mortgage-backed securities continued to deteriorate during the three months ended April 2012. Given the current climate, Moody's said the Irish economy would only grow by 0.2pc in 2012. "In this weak economic recovery, it will be difficult for distressed borrowers to significantly increase their debt servicing capabilities and so arrears are likely to continue increasing,'' it warned. Independent.ie reporters

Allsop Space Auction Venue - 6th July 2012 The Shelbourne Hotel Dublin 2 Start Times Single Session Auctioneer’s Announcements 10.45 a.m. Lot 1 not before 11.00 a.m. Lot     Type     Location     Reserve Price will not exceed this figure 1    Investment Flat    Dublin 2    €135,000 2    Investment Flat    Galway City    €120,000 3    Investment Flat    Malahide    €75,000 4    Vacant Freehold House    Killiney    €95,000 5    Vacant Freehold House    Galway City    €50,000 6    Investment Freehold House    Newbridge    €30,000 7    Land/Site    Gort    €27,150 8    Investment Flat    Dublin 8    €75,000 9    Vacant Freehold House    Mountshannon    €40,000 10    Vacant Freehold Building    Moville    €45,000 11    Investment Freehold Building    Wicklow    €100,000 12    Land    Castlemaine    €50,000 13    Vacant Freehold House    Bunclody    €35,000 14    Vacant Flat    Bundoran    €17,500 15    Vacant Flat    Cratloe    €75,000 16    Vacant Freehold Building    W

Auctioneers to sell 14-house ghost estate in Co Kerry for just €50,000... DEPENDING on how deep your pockets are, you can pick up a ghost estate of 14 houses for only €50,000 or a Georgian House for €1m in the Allsop Space auction next month. A total of 90 properties are available at the event on July 6. Another unusual property on offer is Whites Castle, Athy, Co Kildare, a 15th century castle in the centre of the town, which also has a €50,000 guide price. The auctioneers are hoping to raise about €8m from the auction, which is below the €13m it achieved in its last auction in May. But then there are fewer lots this time and less valuable commercial properties. The ghost estate was conceived as a multi-million holiday home development at a pivotal point on Kerry's tourist trail. The 14-house lot at Annagh Banks in Castlemaine, Co Kerry, is about to be auctioned for only €50,000. It will be the first time that Allsop Space will include a full ghost estate as one lot at auction.

200,000 homes may need to be bulldozed -- bank AN explosive report has claimed that Ireland has so many empty houses that it would take up to 43 years to fill them all. Deutsche Bank figures suggest that there are 289,451 empty houses in Ireland, including almost 60,000 vacant holiday homes. This represents a vacancy rate of 15 per cent. As the Deutsche Bank map shows, the empty properties are highly concentrated around the Atlantic coast with Kerry and Donegal particularly badly afflicted. This glut of empty homes will have a major impact on future property prices. "Demand for housing is the key factor as to how long it will take for this oversupply to be reduced, and aside from demand for second homes the key driver should be population growth," Deutsche Bank notes. Based on 2011 figures which showed population growth of just 13,000, and the average number of residents per house, the bank estimates that it could take until 2055 for the glut of houses to be worked through

The legacy of the boom and the subsequent property collapse have come home to roost in 2012. This is the year the Nama deferred payment scheme was launched, a ghost estate was sold at a distressed property auction, and the country’s most expensive property failed to sell despite a 74 per cent price drop. Here are 10 properties that sum up where we are now ... 1. Walford, Shrewsbury Road Now that the madness of the property boom is a distant memory, it has become apparent that not only was Walford on Shrewsbury Road in Dublin 4 never worth the €58 million paid for it in 2005, it has failed to find a buyer for it, even at the radically reduced price of €15 million. The Edwardian house on 1.8 acres went on the market in September 2011 but was recently withdrawn, presumably because it failed to meet the guide price. When it was sold in 2005, the cachet of the road and the development potential drove rich individuals into a frenzy, pushing the price substantially ove

No magic bullet for banks' property crisis... It is going to take more than a decade to unwind the excess property assets financed by the banks during the noughties THE BANKS in Ireland, including IBRC and Nama, have more than €30 billion of Irish loans relating to property which they need to unwind over the next five to seven years in order to meet the Basel capital adequacy requirements and also repay the temporary ECB loan support. This unwinding process has started by the sale of overseas assets and loan books but is mainly outstanding in Ireland. Can this deleverage be achieved? What will be the timescale and what will be the nature of the property market during the process? Should the Government provide further help to the industry? These are key questions for all close to the banking and property industries. In a comprehensive discussion note* I have tried to join the dots of the many intertwining factors. I have drawn on two recent studies on the overall European property

HOME buyers get mortgage approval from either Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB or EBS. The buyers then find a property they want that is part of the NAMA scheme. They will need a deposit of at least 10pc of the value of the property. If they are buying a €200,000 house, this means the buyer will need a deposit of €20,000. So the house hunter borrows €180,000 from the bank and repays the mortgage based on this amount for five years. The scheme works by NAMA deferring 20pc of the value of the property, which works out at €40,000 in this case. But for the first five years the homeowner makes payments on the full €180,000 they have borrowed. If, after five years, when the property is revalued under the scheme, the property value has fallen, then the homeowner will end up not having to pay the full amount of the mortgage. This is because NAMA has deferred up to 20pc of the property purchase price. If the property falls in value by 20pc, then the €40,000 will be written off by NAMA. If it fal