Affordable homes keep market ticking over
INVESTORS sidelined, apartments out of favour, and affordable houses very much in.
That’s the message from three prominent Limerick auctioneers, who agreed that the pendulum had been tipped in favour of first-time home buyers.
Over- priced apartments have lost their gloss and with investors frozen out, doors, they say, have been opened to those in search of their dream home at reasonable cost.
Mark O’Donoghue, Hickey O’Donoghue Auctioneers, told the Limerick Post that well located affordable houses were top priority with clients.
“We might be going through a recession but, if the price is right, the money is available. We have sold a few homes in recent weeks, some in former corporation estates and others in the Dooradoyle area.
“In the first mentioned, we are talking in terms of €100,000 to €150,000, to around €250,000 in developments of 20 years-old and more”.
And Lisa Kearney, Rooney Auctioneers, rowing in with Mr O’Donoghue, reported that there was a definite upwards trend, with steady demand for properties in the €130,000-€300,000 bracket. Over that, it is a bit more difficult.
“Yes, it is a changed scene from the turn of the century, but despite all the negativity, there remains movement out there.
“Favoured areas are Castletroy, Dooradoyle and North Circular Road…we sold four units in the Kylemore Estate in a matter of days. There is also a rekindling of interest in terraced houses in the city.
“We have had 15 viewings in the past 10 days for a €300,000 property in Lisnagry…that’s very much a positive”.
In the height of the boom, apartment style living was very much in vogue but auctioneers have noted a marked decline in interest.
Said Mr O’Donoghue: “Investors are not buying either apartments or houses, and that is reflected in vendors asking for more realistic prices. That opens up the market for potential owner-occupiers who, in the past, had difficulty in competing with them”.
There was, he added, reasonable interest in city centre apartments from non-nationals.
“It is the lifestyle to which people from eastern european countries are accustomed, and they want the same in their adopted country”.
One investor admitted to the Limerick Post that an apartment development in which he had an interest, and initially priced at over €220,000 per unit, failed to attract any buyers -”I doubt if they would achieve €100,000 in the present climate”.
On the question of so called ‘ghost’ estates, Mr O’Donoghue said his office had four genuine enquiries for one particular site -”but the receiver moved in and our hands are now tied”.
Ms Kearney, meanwhile, has a gripe with lending institutions.
She explained: “We had a few clients who were initially promised mortgages between €250,000 and €260,000, but when they selected their property, they were told that the promised mortgage had been reduced to €220,000. That’s not fair…”
Another Limerick auctioneer, who wished not to be identified because of client confidentiality, conceded that while the property market had taken a nosedive, there were signs of a recovery.
“I sold two properties in the Churchill Meadows area within days of having come onto the market, and the agreed reserves were reached. Offices have certainly slimmed down to cut overheads, and if things are only ticking over at the moment, the important aspect is that there remains life out there”.
