Daft Property - Irish Property News

Investors snap up 'bankable' artworks... WORKS from famous landscape artists are being snapped up by investors as 'bankable' options for their nest eggs. Antiques, furniture, art, gold, stamps and coins are once again being purchased as long-term investments, according to people in the auction industry. It comes as property values continue to fall and confidence in the stock markets -- and particularly in bank shares -- remains fragile. Now those with money to invest towards their retirement are looking to the art world. "They think they (paintings) are bankable and they are probably right," said Ian Whyte, managing director of Dublin auction house Whyte's. "I remember particularly in the late '70s, when inflation was running at 18pc to 20pc a year, people were purchasing tangible art collections, antiques, furniture, stamps and coins. "People are uncertain about banks and they want to buy into something tangible. Property is no

The Government, the EU and a great swindle... In a massive shafting of the Irish people, our own leaders and those in Europe threw away our democracy. Let's play a simple game. Let's put together three stories that emerged last week. And when we do this we will see, more clearly than ever, that we were royally screwed, that we are victims of one of the biggest stitch-ups perpetrated on a country since the heyday of colonialism in Africa. We were stitched up by an unholy alliance of our own Government and autonomous undemocratic institutions within the EU, who seem to be answerable to no one, and other institutions within the EU that are supposed to be answerable to us. Each of these stories, if you read them, will have angered and astounded you. But put the three of them together and you will be fit to be tied. Again. The great swindle begins with the European Commission. You probably don't know exactly what the European Commission is. You are vaguely aware that it

We're surrounded by empty houses - so why did council give go-ahead for even more homes? RESIDENTS in an area of north Dublin awash with empty homes are objecting to plans to build even more new properties. Homeowners in Brackenwood, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, say there is no need for a new development of 18 units, since they are already flanked by empty homes in surrounding estates. The developers, Parkway Partnership, were last week granted planning permission for the units, which will be located adjacent to Brackenwood, after they modified their original application. CRAMMED But local resident Rose Allen said: "We don't need any more houses. Who has the money to buy houses now? "Now we have a developer coming in who wants to build 18 houses and it's the only green that we have in our estate. They're all going to be crammed in because the site is no bigger than a football pitch. "It's in our own green area. We've no field, no trees in

Irish property could still be overvalued by 30 percent... Irish house prices increased by around 330 per cent between 1996 to 2007 – a bubble of impressive scale and duration, but a bubble nonetheless. Plenty of outside observers saw the writing on the wall and said so, but they were overlooked in the Celtic Tiger gold rush. The European Central Bank (ECB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Financial Times, the Economist and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) all spoke of dire portents early and often. They were ignored. Cheap and easy money arrived in Ireland just as the tiger economy geared up. The country adopted the euro and access to a large pool of low-cost European finance with it. When the bubble burst Ireland's main domestic financial institutions were wiped out and European institutions and the IMF took over the nation's financial affairs. So the question now is has the country reached the end? According to a report i

Brian Lenihan tells the Irish bailout story on Radio 4... The inside story of Ireland's unprecedented economic bailout is revealed in Bailout Boys Go to Dublin, a new documentary on BBC Radio 4. In his first major interview since the last November's bailout, former Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan recalls his feelings as he prepared to sign up to the 85bn euro (£75bn) bailout - a deal which would end Ireland's economic sovereignty. "I have a very vivid memory of going to Brussels on the final Monday and being on my own at the airport and looking at the snow gradually thawing and thinking to myself: this is terrible. No Irish minister has ever had to do this before," he says. "I had fought for two and a half years to avoid this conclusion. I believed I had fought the good fight and taken every measure possible to delay such an eventuality and now hell was at the gates". Dan O'Brien, the economics editor of the Irish Times, tells the stor

Allsop plans five fire sales a year... THE UK auction house Allsop and its Irish affiliate Space plans to hold up to five distressed property auctions a year following the success of its first auction last Friday when 81 out of 82 lots were sold for a total of €15 million. The next auction is scheduled for July 7th, when 200 lots will be auctioned, including apartments, tenanted shops, farms and houses. According to Space director Stephen McCarthy, his company is being inundated with requests from receivers, banks and individuals who want to sell their property fast. Many of the properties in Friday’s auction were sold by Bank of Scotland Ireland and it’s believe there is plenty more of this stock to sell. These include apartments in the Castleforbes development in the Dublin docklands, as well as units in Dublin 8 and in Castleknock. However, the agency is also considering taking on more agricultural land. One lot, a 55 acre farm in Co Wickow sold particularly well, making €42

Soap opera life of Celtic Tiger dynasty... THE wealth built up by their parents was a launch pad for sons Jim Jnr and PJ in a boom-time era world of beautiful women, powerful cars and fashionable parties. In true soap opera style the family has seen more than its share of strife and tragedy. All three of Jim Mansfield's sons were brought into the family businesses, but personal rather than business dealings catapulted two of the boys into the media limelight. Youngest son PJ married model and former Miss Ireland Andrea Roche in a high-profile wedding ceremony in 2006. The event was a magnet for Ireland's fashionistas. Leggy models and household names were packed into a marquee in the grounds of nearby Palmerstown House for the reception. Nearby, the village of Saggart was choked to capacity by the fleet of Mercedes, Bentleys and Chryslers -- as well as the Mansfield's family Rolls-Royce -- which had been left parked on the narrow streets during the big event.