Daft Property - Irish Property News

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

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.

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

Charlie Haughey's beloved Kinsealy estate on the market for a knockdown €7.5m... FORMER Taoiseach Charlie Haughey's Abbeville mansion has gone on the market for a fraction of the €45m he sold it for a decade ago. Abbeville, in north Dublin, now has an asking price of just over €7m - after the company that owns it went into receivership. The former Taoiseach sold the property with stud farm in 2003, and was believed to be under pressure to sell as he negotiated a €5m settlement with the Revenue Commissioners at the time. The new asking price is 16.7 pc of what Haughey sold it for a decade ago. However, the purchaser, Joe Moran's Manor Park Homes, subsequently went into receivership after Bank of Scotland Ireland sought to recover outstanding debts. Receiver Tom Kavanagh selected estate agents Savills from a number of agents whom he asked to advise on the sale of Abbeville. The estate appears in today’s Irish Times property section and is described as: “A magnificent Gando

LAST WEEKEND estate agents cheerfully reported that the “top end” of the residential market was showing signs of improvement, as, since the beginning of the year, they had sold 50 houses at €1 million plus and a certain percentage of those sales had even exceeded the €2 million mark. Given that, a mere five or six years ago, well-located but modest three-bed terraced houses were selling for that amount and considerably more, they hardly expected us to jump up and down with excitement at the news. And considering that a certain percentage of these properties would have been purchased within the last decade for approximately three times the figure they have recently achieved, their vendors are unlikely to be thrilled either, since despite selling their home many are probably still up to their necks in debt. But the estate agents did at least confirm that many of the trophy properties are being snapped up by ex-pats, who are now returning to the Irish property market a

Dublin apartment prices now down 62pc, says CSO THE house prices freefall has worsened, with some properties now up to 62pc cheaper than at the height of the boom five years ago. February alone saw one of the largest single monthly falls on record - 2.2pc, a figure surpassed only during two months in spring 2009. Apartments in Dublin are worst hit by the crash, while the overall fall in the value of all properties in the capital is now up to 57pc. The Central Statistics Office also warned that in the last 12 months prices have come down by 17.8pc. That is compared to a 10.8% fall in the year to February 2011. A breakdown of the Residential Property Price Index since the slump hit exactly five years ago showed: - Nationally, the crash has wiped 49pc off values; - Houses in Dublin are down 56pc but apartments 62pc - Outside of the capital, prices are down 45pc on average. Although the CSO does not give actual prices, houses in Dublin were believed to be worth about €43

NCB Stockbrokers said the price of buying a home will fall by at least a fifth in the years ahead as Ireland recovers "from the largest credit and housing bubble in OECD history". The Dublin-based broker calculated that the eventual national decline from peak to trough will be 60pc. Average prices have fallen 47pc so far which implies that prices must fall by at least another 20pc before hitting rock bottom. "The boost from domestic demand will not be material until 2013. Unemployment, currently 14.3pc, will remain above 10pc until 2016," NCB economist Brian Devine warned. "As such, there should be no surprise that property prices continue to decline, mortgage arrears continue to rise and retail sales remain weak," he said. Prices in Dublin have already fallen close to this amount with apartment prices in Dublin down 58pc and house prices in Dublin down 54pc. Mr Devine said he remains worried about the fundamentals underpinning the Irish economy but kept

The next Allsop Space Auction will take place on 1st March 2012... Venue: The Shelbourne Hotel Dublin 2 Online Catalogue: Lot     Type     Location     Reserve Price will not exceed this figure 1    Investment Flat    Dublin 1    €135,000 2    Investment Flat    Dublin 8    €120,000 3    Investment Leasehold House    Galway City    €75,000 4    Investment Flat    Dublin 8    €90,000 5    Vacant Freehold House    Drogheda    €100,000 6    Vacant Freehold House    Enniscrone    €55,000 7    Vacant Freehold House    Dingle    €50,000 8    Investment Flat    Dublin 1    €175,000 9    Investment Flat    Blackrock    €170,000 10    Investment Flat    Letterkenny    €19,000 11    Investment Flat    Castletroy    €65,000 12    Vacant Freehold Building    Glenamaddy    €30,000 13    Vacant Freehold Building    Arklow    €55,000 14    Vacant Freehold House    Abbeyleix    €100,000 15    Vacant Freehold Building    Wexford    €170,000 16    Investment Flat    Dublin 22    €70,000 17    Inv

House prices now under €200k, lowest since 2000... HOUSE prices in Dublin have fallen below the €200,000 barrier for the first time since the early months of 2000. Values fell by almost 17pc last year - the fastest annual decline in almost two years, official figures have revealed. The average cost of a home is now about €165,000 based on prices at the peak of the property boom in February 2007 while in Dublin prices have fallen to €198,260. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has reported prices down by 47pc in the last five years. On top of that huge crash, the record for December shows house prices falling at their fastest rate since February 2010 and a steady increase in the rate of decline all through 2011. The average price paid for a house nationally in February 2007 was euro €311,078, while in Dublin it was €431,000, according to the accepted report on mortgage drawdowns by Permanent TSB. Based on those figures and the CSO's rate of decline, average prices

An oversupply of housing and continued uncertainty are among reasons there is little hope of growth in the residential market... IN SPITE of last month’s budget measures aimed at stimulating the property market, there are six reasons why the market will remain slow to recover. The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) at NUI Maynooth is one of the few bodies which has been consistently researching the housing market with any degree of rigour. It believes that the budget measures aimed at boosting the residential property market won’t work. Firstly, prices are still falling, or “unwinding”, and most analysis suggests they will continue to fall for up to the next 24 months. No correction can happen until prices stop falling. But even when they do stabilise, there are other issues to take into account. We have a massive oversupply of housing. CSO figures say 14.7 per cent of the total stock is vacant. My calculations say that excluding second a

MANY PEOPLE selling their homes are still looking for prices higher than buyers are likely to pay – and the difference between asking and selling prices can be as much as 20 per cent. For while property website surveys published this week show residential property price falls since the peak of the property boom of between 43 and 52 per cent nationally, estate agents say that actual selling prices are now down by around 60 per cent and more. The lack of specific information about property sales prices means that buyers and sellers are still largely in the dark about what is actually happening in the property market. This should change in June, when a property price register detailing recent sales, with addresses and prices, is published by the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA). The figures published by property websites MyHome and Daft are all based on asking prices. Meanwhile, the CSO’s most recent residential property price index, published in late December, showed prices

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

The property dilemma -- to sit tight or cut your losses? It's a dilemma hitting thousands -- especially young couples living in apartments. What do they do -- sell now or hold on? Many of them were frightened on to the bottom rung of the property ladder and now find themselves in a home which is too small for their needs. They are asking themselves if they should take the hit on negative equity, and buy a house which can accommodate a growing family. And even if they do, where will they get the money to buy another property? A few years ago, many had held on in the hope of a soft landing, but now are wondering whether they should bite the bullet and jump. Already price falls of 40pc to 50pc have made family houses much more affordable. However, many couples who sell an apartment that they bought in the boom could find that the sale price is far less than the amount they owe to the bank. Banks are slow to allow them to sell, trade up and carry over the negative equit

Bulldozers send boomtime buildings crashing down... TWO unfinished houses that would have fetched €200,000 each during the boom have been bulldozed because of public safety fears. The unoccupied houses -- and foundations for three more -- were levelled at Church View in Clongeen, Co Wexford, at a cost to the taxpayer of €28,000. Other residents of the estate last night said they were relieved that Wexford County Council had taken action against the developers, Impulse Construction Ltd, by knocking down the houses. They said the unfinished houses had attracted vandals and encouraged anti-social behaviour for some time, and were unsightly at the entrance to the estate. This was the first time houses had been demolished in a new estate in Wexford, but the Department of the Environment confirmed other houses had been demolished on a small number of occasions. Wexford County Council confirmed it has more plans in the pipeline to carry out "public safety works which may involv

Nama 'perks' for builders add to sense of injustice Developers enjoying allowances on top of huge salaries -- and all at taxpayers' expense... DEVELOPERS who work for Nama will be entitled to claim expenses and may even stay in their palatial homes as they draw salaries ranging from €70,000 to €200,000, the Sunday Independent can reveal. Confirmation of the generous allowances being given by the State's so-called 'bad bank' is sure to provoke fresh anger from a public reeling from the revelation by Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh last Wednesday that his agency has approved salaries of €200,000 for two of its biggest developers. Appearing before the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Mr McDonagh also confirmed Nama's intention to approve salaries ranging from €70,000 to €100,000 a year for between 110 and 120 developers on its books before the end of this year. Confirmation of the multimillion euro pay bill has unsurprisingly been met