16th June (Issue 251)
Welcome to the Origin Capital Weekly Irish Property Review. This update is designed to provide you with a full recap of the latest property news from the media over the last seven days.
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Cherrywood, South Dublin Hines, and its Dutch joint venture partners, APG Asset Management, have “capped off” the first of several apartment blocks they intend to develop at Cherrywood in south Dublin. The building, which is expected to be ready for occupation by tenants by the second quarter of 2021, comprises 421 units. A total of 1,326 apartments, aimed mainly at the private rented sector, are due to come on stream at Cherrywood over the next three years. Upon completion, the Cherrywood scheme will comprise over 7,700 new homes, six schools, three public parks and leisure facilities, with four Luas stops serving an eventual planned population of 25,000 people. The Irish Times, 10th June
Residential Property Market The latest CSO planning statistics show that An Bord Pleanála approved plans for 9,698 apartments in the first quarter of this year – and just 5,091 houses. The gap between apartment and house approvals has surged in 2020. In the first quarter of 2019, An Bord Pleanála and other planning authorities cleared the way for 4,091 houses to be constructed versus just 2,592 apartments. Approvals for apartments in the first quarter were 274% higher than a year ago. More than 91% of all apartment approvals in the first quarter of 2020 were for developments in Dublin and its commuter belt. Total planning permissions in the first quarter for all developments totalled 6,660, down 4.1% from a year ago. The Irish Independent, 12th June
Deansgrange, Dublin 18 Ditton Investments has applied for fast-track permission from An Bord Pleanala for 151 apartments at a site near Mooney’s Hyundai dealership on Deansgrange Road. If given the go-ahead, the existing buildings at the site would be demolished to make way for a mixed-use development ranging in height from four to six storeys. The project will provide studio apartments and one- and two-bedroom units, with a restaurant or cafe and five commercial units that could house a shop, offices, a medical centre or a gym. The Deansgrange development would provide parking space for 99 vehicles and 320 bicycles, as well as two designated car-sharing parking spaces. The Times Ireland, 14th June
Rathgar, Dublin 6 The Sunday Business Post understands that Cairn Homes is seeking to convert a space allocated for a crèche into seven apartments at its Marianella scheme on the site of a former Redemptorist monastery in Rathgar in Dublin 6. The scheme comprises 308 houses and apartments and has its own cinema screen as well as a gym with a steam room and sauna. There is also an empty crèche designed to accommodate 73 children. Cairn have applied to turn the crèche space into seven apartments and build a smaller crèche elsewhere on the site for 28 children. The Sunday Business Post, 14th June
Student Accommodation An Bord Pleanála gave developers and universities permission to build student accommodation blocks with space for more than 9,500 students in the three years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Student accommodation benefits from a fast-track planning system for large housing developments that allows builders to sidestep local councils and seek permission direct from An Bord Pleanála. The biggest development to get approval in 2019 was a 1,240 bedroom complex in Glasnevin proposed by Dublin City University. The college was hoping to complete the blocks, some of up to seven storeys, in time for the academic year beginning in the autumn of 2023. The Irish Times, 12th June
Residential Property Market The latest data from Daft.ie showed that property prices staged a minor rebound in May having fallen sharply the previous month, while the stock of rental properties available in the month continued to rise. Sale prices rose by an average of 3.7% cent in May, in contrast to a 5.5% fall in April. However, the average listed sales price of homes was still 1.6% lower than a year ago, coming in at €245,545. The substantial rise in May was the biggest one-month increase since early 2015, following April’s fall which was the largest on record. In the rental market, despite the substantial increase in stock, the average monthly rent across the State was €1,398 in May, 0.7% higher than in the same month last year. In Dublin, the average sale price was €368,000, 1% lower than in April, while the average monthly rent was €2,021, flat on the previous month. The Irish Times, 9th June
The latest Housing Market Monitor for Q1, issued by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, has projected that there will be a shortfall of up to 12,000 new houses in 2020 due to the coronavirus shutdown and the workplace restrictions currently in place. Early estimates predicted as many as 26,000 new homes would be built in 2020 but these have been revised down to between 14,000 and 16,000 due to the shutdown and the existing restrictions on construction sites. The Irish Examiner, 16th June
OFFICE
Dublin Docklands The Irish Times understands that An Post has entered into exclusive negotiations to rent at least 120,000 sq.ft. at the Exo building at Point Square in the Dublin docklands. The Exo, which is under construction, will comprise 169,150 sq.ft. of Grade A office space upon completion later this year. An Post is looking to relocate its headquarters from the GPO to facilitate an extensive refurbishment of the building. The GPO hasn’t been subject to any form of substantive works since the 1980s, and now requires significant mechanical and engineering repairs as well as a complete interior redesign. The public post office and the GPO Witness History Museum will continue in their current location. The Irish Times, 10th June
Dawson St, Dublin 2 The world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has committed to a new two-year sub lease for the second floor of Joshua House on Dawson Street at a rent in the region of €54 psf per annum together with three car parking spaces. Dentons’ new offices extend to 4,500 sq.ft, giving it the capacity to accommodate up to 45 employees. Joshua House is a five- storey over basement Grade A office building constructed in 2002. Located immediately adjacent to the Mansion House, the building is occupied currently by Irish biotech firm Nuritas. The Irish Times, 10th June
Dublin Office Market In a recent interview between Owen Reilly and Willie Dowling of CBRE, it was highlighted that there is currently 5 million sq.ft. of office stock under construction in the Dublin market, 2.5 million sq.ft. of which is reserved, 1 million sq.ft. of which is due to complete this year. Last year, office take-up was 3.5 million sq.ft. and it is thought that up to 2 million sq.ft. could still be taken up in 2020 despite the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Another impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could see the reduction of prime rents from €65 psf to €60 psf. Owen Reilly, 9th June
RETAIL
Henry St, Dublin 1 Vodafone is set to open its first Vodafone experience store at 22-23 Henry Street in Dublin city centre. As part of the move, Vodafone will exit its two existing locations on Henry Street and will occupy the entire of 22-23 Henry Street on a 10-year lease. The building extends to c.6,800 sq.ft. and is occupied currently by fashion retailer Pull & Bear, part of the Inditex group. Vodafone is understood to have agreed to pay a rent of c.€450,000 per annum for its new premises. While the figure is higher than the €375,000 Inditex had been paying for the property, Vodafone’s own rental costs are not expected to increase following the consolidation of the operations of its two existing stores at numbers 32 and 51 Henry Street into one location. It is understood that Vodafone are taking advantage of break options in its leases on both premises. The Irish Times, 10th June
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