Daft Property - Irish Property News

We're getting back to basics in these recessionary times... ANYONE WHO, like me, has only recently learned to appreciate the wonders of Lidl will not be surprised by Ulster Bank's recent revelation that spending took the biggest nosedive since 1983 in the first three quarters of this year and Irish consumers continue to spend cautiously in the run up to Christmas. There was a time when the stark lighting, the anaemic decor (would a cheery sunburst yellow colour scheme be out of the question Mr Lidl?) and that curiously earthy smell once you hit the door (what is that?) was enough to have some of us running to the more sweet smelling Superquinn for cover. But our priorities are changing and we're discovering that rampant parsimony has its thrills. The psyche of a nation, formed over 10 years of profligate spending, is under review and it's not just property we're holding back on, but household goods, which Ulster Bank attributes to the weakness in the housing market,...

Sign of times as Lidl eyes Habitat store... Upmarket furniture store Habitat could be replaced in the city centre by a discount supermarket. German retail giant Lidl is one of only two businesses -- the other an overseas bank -- pitching for the lease of the massive store, located off the bottom of Grafton Street on College Green. Crunch Lidl and fellow discount chain Aldi have seen a significant increase in business since the effects of the credit crunch. They have also been helped by a recent National Consumer Agency survey. The research found that a basket of 28 own-brand goods was more than 50pc cheaper in Lidl than in Tesco or Dunnes Stores. Several leases available on Grafton Street have been slow to sell because of the deterioration in consumer spending. Property adviser CB Richard Ellis has predicted that business premises on the high street will only sell when values have been cut by 50pc. Lidl is not the only big-name trader to have checked out the former Habitat store. Nearb...