Daft Property - Irish Property News

92% of lots sold by Allsop... THE BIDDING was brisk at the Allsop Space auction of mostly distressed property in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel yesterday, as 1,600 people packed into the auction room and spilled out into the bar and lobby of the hotel. A total of 97 of the 108 properties sold under the hammer with a further two selling after auction, raising a total of €11.4 million. Around half were cash buyers – 30 per cent less than at previous auctions. A small group of protesters from a group calling themselves the Anti-Eviction Taskforce held a low-key protest outside the hotel. However proceedings came to a brief halt when one protester stood up in front of the auctioneer and warned about the “ill will” that could affect buyers of distressed property in communities. “Don’t bid then,” replied auctioneer Gary Murphy from UK-based Allsop, before thanking the protestor for his “kind words”. Around a third of the lots are apartments, and one of the bargains of the auction was a

HOUSE prices will keep falling for another two years and not bottom out until at least 2013, when the average price will have fallen by 60pc to €150,000. The latest prediction comes as National Irish Bank said it would raise its variable rates by up to 0.95pc next month. However, there are renewed hopes that the European Central Bank will signal a cut in eurozone interest rates when it meets tomorrow. A cut in ECB rates may help the collapsing housing market. Ireland is currently experiencing the most violent property crash in the western world. Over the last four years, prices have fallen by 45pc to leave the average asking price at €194,000, according to the latest Daft.ie house-price index. The Central Statistics Office puts the fall from peak at 43pc. Now it has been predicted that prices are set to fall for another two years with the average asking price to hit €150,000 before the market bottoms out, according to research by housing economist Ronan Lyons of Daft. Mr

House prices take another dive bringing annual collapse to 14pc... House prices took another nosedive towards the end of the summer, official figures have revealed. The cost of residential property fell 1.6pc in August taking the total collapse over the previous 12 months to 13.9pc. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said homes have fallen in value by 43pc since the peak of the market in early 2007. Over the last four years house prices in Dublin are down 48pc and apartments 57pc, while the fall in residential property prices outside the capital is about 40pc since the bubble burst. According to Conall Mac Coille, chief economist at Davy Stockbrokers, the prices are based on very low level transactions because mortgage lending remains weak. “So falling prices reflect distressed vendors being forced to sell despite weak market conditions,” he said. “Hence residential property prices are likely to continue falling through 2011.” Report by Ed Carty - Irish Independent

Lot Type Location Reserve Price will not exceed this figure 1 Investment Flat Dublin 1 Sold €160,000 2 Leasehold Flat Dublin 4 Sold €130,000 3 Vacant Flat Blackrock €185,000 4 Vacant Flat Howth Sold €183,000 5 Vacant Flat Galway City Sold €144,000 6 Leasehold Flat Dublin 1 Sold €167,500 7 Leasehold Flat Dublin 8 Sold €92,000 8 Vacant Freehold House Clara Sold €72,000 9 Vacant Leasehold House Renvyle Sold €110,000 10 Vacant Flat Blackrock Sold After 11 Investment Freehold House Loughrea Sold €127,000 12 Vacant Freehold House Lackaghmore Sold €164,000 13 Vacant Freehold Building Fermoy Withdrawn 14 Vacant Freehold House Ballyjamesduff Sold €79,000 15 Leasehold Flat Dublin 1 Withdrawn 16 Investment Flat Dublin 8 Sold €116,000 17 Vacant Freehold Building Gorey Sold €120,000 18 Investment Freehold Building Rathgar Sold €320,000 19 Investment Freehold Building Rathgar Sold €459,000 20 Investment Flat Salthill Sold €158,000 21 Investment Freehold Building Dublin 12 Sol

New property fire sale next month... Two period houses in Rathgar and a six-bedroom house on one of the leafiest roads on Dublin’s northside are likely to be among the most sought after properties going under the hammer at the Allsop/Space auction next month. The auction of distressed properties, the third to take place in Dublin since April, will be held in the Shelbourne Hotel on Friday September 23rd. There will be 74 residential and commercial properties across the country on offer. The two Rathgar houses are currently split into flats. One of the houses will have a reserve which will not exceed €240,000 while a neighbouring house has had its maximum reserve set at €380,000. At the height of the boom, houses on the road were routinely priced at over €1.5 million. A six-bedroom, three-storey house on Alphonsus Road in Drumcondra has a reserve which will not to exceed €295,000. It is located not far from an Iona Road property which proved to be the most sought after lot in th

House prices still falling - Dublin tops the list... House prices in Dublin are nearly 47pc off their peak in early 2007 compared with 39pc in the rest of the country, according to the Central Statistics Office. In the year to June, residential property prices at a national level fell by 12.9pc. This compares with an drop of 12.2% in May and a decrease of 12.4pc recorded in the twelve months to June 2010. In Dublin, residential property prices decreased by 2.4pc in June and were 12.6pc down compared with a year ago. House prices in the capital fell by 2.4pc last month and were 11.9pc lower on an annual basis. But economists believe that while the jobs market remains weak, within five years house prices should improve but very slowly. “The bottom line is that the property market remains very ‘soft’ at the moment,” said Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Bloxham Stockbrokers. “ But looking further ahead, we think house prices should increase on a five-year view as the labou

Auction Results for the 87 Lots sorted by Lot Number Lots: 1-87 1 Vacant Flat Dublin 1 Sold €148,000 2 Investment Flat Blackrock Sold €270,000 3 Investment Freehold Building Clondalkin Sold €139,000 4 Investment Freehold House Stepaside Sold €146,000 5 Investment Flat Dublin 7 Sold €177,000 6 Vacant Freehold House Castlebar Sold €87,000 7 Vacant Leasehold House Dublin 3 Sold €67,000 8 Investment Flat Dublin 1 Sold €145,000 9 Investment Freehold Building Bray Sold €220,000 10 Vacant Freehold House Stillorgan Sold €280,000 11 Vacant Freehold House Tyrrelstown Sold €129,000 12 Land/Site Blackrock Sold €66,000 13 Vacant Freehold House Thomastown Sold €50,000 14 Investment Freehold House Kilkenny City Sold €440,000 15 Investment Flat Blackrock Sold €285,000 16 Investment Flat Dublin 9 Sold €55,000 17 Investment Freehold Building Drogheda Available €290,000 18 Vacant Flat Arklow Sold €71,000 19 Vacant Flat Dublin 1 Sold €132,000 20 Vacant Freehold House Dublin 4 Sold

TODAY’S Allsop/Space auction in Dublin’s Shelbourne hotel will be an interesting test of the longevity of the mass auction and whether it’s here to stay or a mere passing fad. Savills Ireland is getting in on the act in September with the promise of around 100 investment properties. with low reserves and prime locations in Dublin. Not wanting to be left out, auction specialist Merlin Group – better known for its car auctions – announced its move into residential property earlier this week. It is getting properties from banks and says it already has 40 for its first big auction in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin in early autumn. Allsop/Space might find it hard today to match the drama and impact of their – and the country’s – first – discounted auction back in April, which saw €14.8 million worth of deals struck in just six hours on vastly discounted properties in prime locations. This time around it has 87 distressed properties around the country with reserves as low as €40,000 on

HOUSE prices in Dublin have gone into a 60pc freefall from their peak and are now at levels last seen in 2002. The cost of buying a home in Dublin fell by 16pc in June compared to the same period last year. In real terms, Dublin house prices have fallen by 60.2pc, from the peak of the market in 2006, according to Sherry FitzGerald estate agents. The national market has corrected by 55.2pc and the average cost of a second-hand house in Ireland dropped by 15.3pc. First-time buyers remain the most active sector in the market, accounting for almost one-third of the properties traded in the year to date. Chief economist Marian Finnegan with Sherry FitzGerald said the falls placed the Irish property recession as one of the most significant recessions in the post-war era. "Accelerating deflation in the property market cycle is somewhat contradictory as the factors underpinning the market have strengthened with improved affordability and relatively tight supply, particularly for

Auction Date: 7th July 2011 Auction Venue: The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin 2   Another Allsop Space Auction of distressed properties coming up next Thursday. Here's the list of whats on offer... Lots: 1-87 Lot Type Location Reserve Price will not exceed this figure 1 Vacant Flat Dublin 1 €142,000 2 Investment Flat Blackrock €202,000 3 Investment Freehold Building Clondalkin €120,000 4 Investment Freehold House Stepaside €102,500 5 Investment Flat Dublin 7 €175,000 6 Vacant Freehold House Castlebar €42,000 7 Vacant Leasehold House Dublin 3 €62,000 8 Investment Flat Dublin 1 €142,000 9 Investment Freehold Building Bray €150,000 10 Vacant Freehold House Stillorgan €275,000 11 Vacant Freehold House Tyrrelstown €97,500 12 Land/Site Blackrock €30,000 13 Vacant Freehold House Thomastown €60,000 14 Investment Freehold House Kilkenny City €410,000 15 Investment Flat Blackrock €222,000 16 Investment Fl

From €25,000 to €1.45m: another distressed auction... AUCTIONS: There’s interest from around the world in next’s week’s big sale DUBLIN’S Shelbourne Hotel is expected to be packed again next Thursday for the second auction of distressed properties to be offered to the highest bidders by auctioneers Allsop/Space. Most of the 87 residential and commercial properties are being sold by financial institutions and receivers. They include 59 houses and apartments, mainly in Dublin, Cork and Waterford, but also in counties ranging from Laois to Donegal. Apartments already rented have been of particular interest to many people who have checked out the online sales catalogue prepared by the Allsop/Space partnership. The site has already had more than 60,000 hits, a figure that is expected to grow to over 100,000 by next Thursday. Just over 14 per cent of the enquiries have come from Ireland but there has been almost an equal level of hits from interested parties in the UK, USA, France, A

Distressed property auction by Savills... AROUND 100 distressed investment properties, mainly in the greater Dublin area, are to be auctioned on a single day in September. The move by Savills Ireland to kick-start both the residential and commercial investment markets is expected to generate sales of over €20 million. Ronan O’Driscoll, of Savills Ireland, said most buyers at the September 29th auction were likely to be cash-rich investors happy to put their money into property now that values had fallen sharply. In the past, investors banked on capital appreciation but it was now all about rental return and in many cases buyers could expect yields of 9 to 10 per cent compared to 3.5 per cent on bank deposits. The announcement that Savills will be staging Ireland’s “biggest ever property auction” comes after last month’s successful auction of distressed properties in Dublin by British auctioneer Allsops and its Irish affiliate Space. They sold 80 of the 81 lots in a packed Shelb

10.8pc plunge in Irish house prices... House prices in Ireland are falling at a double-digit rate but property values in other countries are showing signs of stabilising, research indicated today. The average cost of a home in Ireland dropped by 10.8pc during 2010 as the market suffered from the fall-out of the country's economic problems, according to estate agent Knight Frank. The drop was the biggest recorded for the total of nearly 50 countries looked at by the group. The pace of the falls are also showing little sign of easing, with property losing 3.5pc of its value during the final quarter alone. Steep price falls were also seen in Dubai, with property values diving by 6.1pc during the third quarter of 2010, the latest quarter for which figures are available. But there was better news for those who have bought second homes in France, with house prices in the country actually rising by 9.5pc during 2010. The more conservative French mortgage market means that hous

Only a miracle can save financial system from complete meltdown... MICHAEL Noonan talks the talk, but last Wednesday the only walking he did was backwards. It confirms that the EU is running the show. The light we saw flicker at the end of the tunnel has been blown out and is unlikely to be rekindled any time soon. The new Government had an opportunity to deliver on its election promises. It failed abysmally on one of the key issues. It didn't renegotiate the EU/IMF deal to withhold repayments to the senior bondholders, as promised. It might have been shot down in flames had it persisted with this approach. But it would have preserved its credibility at home. Its proposed bank reorganisation is a whitewash, and only intended to distract us from the cover-up of what is going on at the highest level in Europe. This is not totally unexpected, but it is very disappointing. Weeks before the general election Pat Rabbitte and Simon Coveney said, on separate occasions, that protectin

Property tax on way within year... THE Government has been ordered by the EU/IMF to impose a property tax on all homeowners within a year. The controversial annual tax is expected to be announced in December's Budget -- even though it was not in the Programme for Government. The imposition of the tax and the precise timeline for its roll-out are key requirements for Ireland to avail of the EU/IMF €85bn bailout package. And the Department of the Environment confirmed that the tax will rise within a year of being introduced. Details of how and when the so-called 'site-valuation tax' will be introduced and increased are in a briefing note prepared by civil servants for Environment Minister Phil Hogan. The document has been obtained by the Irish Independent. Under the heading "EU/IMF requirements", the document states that Ireland must "adopt a property tax by end Q4 (quarter 4) 2011", adding that this tax must then be increased by the end of 201

Census to answer questions about state of nation... ARE WE losing our religion and getting divorced more often than before as the recession tightens its grip? How many of us are moving abroad to find work and escape the economic crisis? These questions and many more will be answered by Census 2011, which takes place on Sunday, April 10th, and will provide researchers with a treasure trove of statistical data to pore over to determine the state of the nation. Some 5,000 staff working for the Central Statistics Office (CSO), who are called enumerators, will begin distributing green Census 2011 forms to all 1.8 million households across the State from today. Everyone who is in the State on Sunday, April 10th, must fill in one of the 24-page forms, which include a range of personal questions designed to create a comprehensive picture of the social and living conditions across the State. The green forms ask for basic information about the occupants of a household such as their age

WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF PAIN: The ECB headquarters in Frankfurt... What will the ECB rate rises mean to your mortgage? THE Independent Mortgage Advisers Federation (IMAF) has done the sums to show how much more you will pay for your mortgage if the ECB rate rises. The figures assume that the ECB rate increases by 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent by the end of this year -- and by another 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent next year. The figures also assume that lenders pass on the full extent of the ECB rate rises to standard variable customers. (ECB rate rises are automatically passed on to tracker customers.) €200,000 MORTGAGE €2,200 a year more If you've a 25-year standard variable mortgage of €200,000 with Permanent TSB, your mortgage repayments work out at €1,191 a month. If the ECB rate increases by 0.5 per cent, your monthly repayments will increase to €1,251 -- another €60 more a month, according to Michael Dowling of IMAF. If the ECB rate hits 2.5 per cent by the end of 2

Average house prices in Northern Ireland fell by almost 8 per cent last year. The average cost of a house was £149,795 (€178,000), according to a University of Ulster (UU) survey. The number of sales also fell. Cold weather affected activity around Christmas although the market showed signs of stabilising towards the end of the year. One of the UU survey authors, Professor Alastair Adair, said: “The second half of 2010 has been a difficult period for the housing market in Northern Ireland, contrasting with the tentative signs of recovery in the first half of the year. “It seems that the prospects for the UK economy, local fears of public sector cuts and possible contagion effects from the Irish economy may have dented confidence in the local market and that the severe weather conditions may have impacted on sales volumes in the final quarter.” A total of 110 estate agents were surveyed about activity late last year for the UU, Bank of Ireland and Housing Executive Quarterly H

RATHMICHAEL: €2.15M: A LARGE period house set on four acres just off the N11 in Rathmichael, Co Dublin has had its price cut almost 50 per cent Cuilin, on Allies River Road came on the market exactly a year ago priced at €4.15 million. The price has now been dropped to €2.15 million in a bid to sell through joint agents Sherry FitzGerald and Lennox Estates. The 396sq m (4,265sq ft) five-bedroom house has additional space in a coach-house and stables which have been refurbished and now include a games room and office. The grounds have also been restored and landscaped by the current owners who have lived at Cuilin since the late 1990s. A walled garden of just under an acre has also been restored, with traditional divisions and walkways lined with box hedging. The house is elegant and bright with the four large rooms downstairs and a fine curved landing upstairs. The house is located at the end of Allies River Road, well screened from the N11 though you can hear traffic through the trees

House prices drop to 2002 levels after 14% fall last year... HOUSE PRICES have fallen back to 2002 levels, according to reports released yesterday. The average asking price for a home nationally fell by between 12 and 14 per cent in 2010, according to property reports from websites MyHome.ie, Daft.ie and auctioneers Sherry FitzGerald. All three reports found the rate of decline had slowed, but none predicted that the bottom of the market had yet been reached. However, real estate agents Savills said property in prime locations was unlikely to fall further. Leitrim was the only county in the Republic where property prices did not fall last year, rising by 1.4 per cent in the last three months of 2010. The average home has now dropped by between 35 and 48 per cent since the peak of the property boom, the reports found. MyHome.ie’s latest property barometer found the average home now costs €217,000, over 13 per cent less than this time last year. Sherry FitzGerald put the national price d