17th April (Issue 142)

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

Hanover Quay Development: The sale of the Cairn Homes 120 unit apartment development at Hanover Quay in Dublin’s Docklands is attracting considerable interest from a number of international property funds. Six offers were received in the first round of bids ranging from €90m to €96m (between €750k and €800k per unit) and bids are expected to go beyond €100m in the next round. Cairn Homes bought the Hanover Quay site for €22m, and are expected to spend around €40m on its development. The Irish Independent, 15th April

Elysian Tower, Cork: Ireland’s tallest building will change hands for c. €95m after competition regulators approved its sale. Landlord Kennedy Wilson recently agreed to buy the 17-storey Elysian Tower in Cork from private equity investor, Blackstone, for a fee of c. €90m to €95m. The commission investigated the sale to ensure that it would not damage competition before approving it. The Irish Times, 13th April

Hampton Wood, Dublin 11: Ireland’s largest private landlord, Ires Reit, has been selected as the preferred bidder on the sale of 128 apartments at Hampton Wood in Dublin 11. Ires are likely to have to pay more than the guide price of €32m (€250k per apartment) for the portfolio which is within walking distance of Ikea in Ballymun. The apartments will provide an annual projected rent roll of c. €2.4m when fully let, equating to a gross yield of 7.25% based on a €32m sales price. The Irish Times, 10th April

Blackrock Site Sale: Cushman & Wakefield are guiding €7m for a large period house and adjoining 3 acres in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. A feasibility study has been completed on the site which identifies several development opportunities ranging from 43 to 67 residential units. Cushman & Wakefield are confident there will be significant interest in the property due to the acute shortage of new homes in the area. The Irish Times, 11th April 

Malahide Site Sale: Lisney are guiding €5.5m for a detached Victorian home on 1.6 acres in Malahide with potential to accommodate a new development of 30 to 40 high-quality residential units. The protected Victorian house has an overall floor area of 3,232 sq. ft. and the grounds are marked by extensive lawns and mature shrubs and trees, which would greatly enhance a variety of new houses and apartments. The Irish Times, 11th April

Saggart Site Planning Permission: A joint venture between NAMA and Harcourt Developments has received planning permission to build 526 new homes in Saggart, Co Dublin. The development will consist of 262 three-bed houses, 197 four-bed houses, 37 two-bed duplex units and 30 two-bed apartments with 52 units allocated for social housing. The approval is subject to 39 conditions, which include converting a residential unit to a community floor space, and providing a crèche. The Irish Times, 10th April

Marlet Property Group: The Marlet Property Group is continuing its sell-off of suburban development sites across the greater Dublin by bringing two further sites to the market. Joint agents CBRE and Leahy Estate Agents are guiding €7m (€1.15m per acre) for their 6.1 acre site in Finnstown, Lucan, which has planning permission for 94 units. Elsewhere, CBRE and McPeake Auctioneers are guiding €13m (€633k per acre) for a 20.5 acre site in Hollywoodrath, Dublin 15, with full planning permission for 183 houses. The Irish Times, 13th April

CSO Property Price Report: Latest figures released from the CSO show that residential property prices increased by 13% nationwide in the 12 months to February. Dublin saw prices rise by 12.7%, while outside of the capital the pace of the rise was even faster at 13.1%. The midlands region showed the greatest price growth, with house prices increasing 14.8% while the south-east region showed the least price growth, with house prices increasing 8.6%. Dublin prices are 23% lower than their February 2007 peak, while prices in the Rest of Ireland are 27.5% lower than their May 2007 peak. The Irish Independent, 12th April

 

OFFICE

Ballycoolin Business Park: CBRE have concluded the sale of three interconnected office buildings and a light industrial unit at Ballycoolin Business Park in Dublin 15 to an unnamed investment company for c. €24m. The four buildings are occupied by PayPal who are paying a total rent of €2.2m (€14 psf on office and €11 psf on industrial), equating to a net yield of 9%. Included in the sale is an undeveloped site of 6.9 acres with obvious development potential. The Irish Times, 11th April

36 Upper Mount Street: BNP Paribas have concluded the sale of 36 Upper Mount Street in Dublin 2 for €2.62m (€583 psf), a full €1m above guide price. The five-storey classic Georgian house attracted bidding from four parties and is the highest price paid for a Georgian house in Dublin in the past eight years. The property was offered with vacant possession having been occupied by the OPW in recent years. The Irish Times, 10th April

 

INDUSTRIAL

CBRE Q1 2018 Report: CBRE’s Q1 2018 report on the Dublin industrial market shows that take-up totalled 770k sq. ft. across 56 deals in the quarter, up 41% compared to the same quarter last year. The Dublin South-West (N7) corridor led the way with 37% of all take-up in this period. Prime industrial rents also rose in Q1, and stand at c. €9.50 psf. Prime industrial yields remain stable at 5.5% at the end of Q1. CBRE Dublin Industrial Market Report – Q1 2018

 

OTHERS

Dublin Crane Count: The latest report from The Irish Times concluded that there were 71 construction cranes visible over Dublin city on April 1st, a drop of seven from the previous month. The total is still more than double the 31 recorded on February 1st 2016 when the newspaper commenced its survey. There were 53 cranes visible on the Southside (down seven) and 18 on the Northside. The Irish Times, 10th April

Cork Events Centre: The development of the long awaited €73m Cork events centre is expected to commence in September of this year. The developers, BAM Ireland, have confirmed that the funding issues that have delayed the project for over two years have now been resolved. The events centre is set to cost the State c. €23m more than first anticipated with both the developers, and the operators, LiveNation, also committing more funding to the revised design. The development is aimed at giving Cork a complex to rival Dublin’s 3Arena and Belfast’s Odyssey centre. The Irish Independent, 10th April

Kiely’s Bar Donnybrook: Agent Knight Frank has launched the sale of the famous Dublin 4 rugby pub, Kiely’s of Donnybrook, guiding €5m. The pub and restaurant is located in the heart of Donnybrook village on a 0.2 acre site with significant development potential. The site is zoned Objective Z4 under the current Dublin City Development Plan 2016–2022, which would allow for residential, office, hotel, hostel, restaurant and/or retail use. The Sunday Business Post, 15th April

 


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