23rd February (Issue 285)
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.
OFFICE
Killarney, Kerry REA Coyne & Culloty has launched an investment property for sale in Killarney Co. Kerry. The property is 12,000 sq. ft and consists of the ground and first floor of Park House, which is located beside the Killarney Plaza Hotel and opposite the Killarney National Park. It is guided at €3 million and is generating rental income of €178,000 (€15.8 psf), on a strong covenant to the Office of Public Works (OPW). The majority of the property is let to the OPW across three separate leases, with expiry in 2028 for two ground floor sections totalling 7,600 sq. ft with a combined rent of €116,000, and 2026 for first floor units 3 and 4, of 3,600 sq. ft, and earning €62,000. Irish Examiner, 18th February
KPMG, Dublin The Irish Times are reporting that KPMG are assessing proposals from 5 developers over the location of their new headquarters. The shortlist includes Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), the Kenny family’s Clancourt Group, Shane Whelan’s Westridge Real Estate, Hibernia Reit, and US real estate firm Kennedy Wilson. KPMG currently occupy buildings on Harcourt St and a building in the IFSC but are looking to accommodate its entire 2,500 workforce in the same location when its leases expire in 2026. The Irish Times, 17th February
Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Cushman and Wakefield has launched office space available to rent by way of a subletting in Ranelagh village, at Westmoreland House for €32.50 psf. Westmoreland House is a three-storey mixed-use development with third-generation grade A office accommodation on the first and second floors. The available space is 4,899 sq.ft and is capable of accommodating up to 40 staff. The Irish Times, 17th February
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Citywest, Dublin It is reported in the Business Post that a property development company is lobbying TD’s over the rezoning of 225 acres which are located beside the Citywest hotel. Tetrarch Capital has met with both Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin housing spokesman and Emer Higgins, the Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West. If Tetrarch are successful it will be one of the largest rezonings in Dublin in years. Tetrarch has also discussed allocating up to 30 per cent of the land for affordable housing in its talks with South Dublin County Council management. The Business Post, 21st February
Clondalkin, Dublin Six unfinished houses on a 0.7-acre site in Clondalkin, Dublin 22, have been sold for €1,415,000 or €165,000 over the €1.25m guide price quoted by Savills. Located on the southern side of Station Road in Clondalkin at a property known as 1 to 6 Station Grove, the three-bedroom, red brick, two storey houses included a terrace of three houses, a pair of semi-detached houses as well as one detached house. The sale took place on Offr.io. The Irish Independent, 18th February
Mungret, Limerick Limerick City and County Council have issued a part 8 application for a €55.6 million social housing development located in Dromdarrig, Mungret, Co Limerick. The application is for the construction of 253 residential units including 36 two-bed houses; 110 three-bed houses; 26 four-bed houses; two six-bed community dwellings; 37 two-bed apartment units; and 42 one-bed apartment units with renewable energy design measures for each housing unit. The Business Post, 21st February
Tallaght, Dublin 24 Steelworks Property Developments has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for the development of 252 build to rent apartments which will comprise of 50 studios, 96 one-bed apartments, 100 two-bed apartments and six three-bed apartments. The development will range from two-to-nine floors. The development includes concierge and management facilities, communal gym, flexible meeting rooms, library/co-working space, lounge, cinema/multimedia room and external covered game area. The €55 million apartment development is located at Units 66 and 67 Fourth Avenue, Cookstown Industrial Estate, Tallaght, Dublin 24. The Business Post, 21st February
Lansdowne Terrace, Dublin 2 The owner and operating firm of the Aviva stadium have put a property which they own that is located beside the stadium up for sale. 2 Lansdowne Terrace has been put on the market for €1.3m with a representative for the owners stating that the property has been put up for sale to generate funds. Sherry Fitzgerald are managing the sale on behalf of the owners. The four-bedroom 19th-century redbrick house is separated from the stadium by the Dart railway line. It is 220 square metres in size and has been used as an office since 1976. The Business Post, 21st February
Regional Rents Rent increases in all markets outside Dublin in 2020 boosted gross yields in the regions to double-digit levels, according to the latest Daft report. The Daft report showed that nearly all markets outside of Dublin are generating double-digit returns on one-bedroom apartments. The lowest regional yields are Galway City and Co. Waterford which are 9.3% and the highest are 12.6% in Roscommon. Only three areas of Dublin offered yields over 10 per cent: Dublin 17, which includes Clonshaugh; Dublin 22, which includes Clondalkin; and Dublin 24, which includes Tallaght. It is reported that with the banks charging for savings it is encouraging savers and people holding cash in their pensions to consider the buy to let market. The Business Post, 21st February
House Prices A study by the Economic and Social Research Insitute (ESRI) has found that without the Central Banks mortgage rules the price of houses would be 9% higher. The study estimated that the Central Bank’s rules had reduced the average size of mortgage loans here by 8 per cent, mainly since 2018, and that average house prices were 8.8 per cent lower as a result. The study highlighted the relationship between credit and house prices that pertained in the lead-up to the 2008 property crash still applied today. The Irish Times, 23rd February
Dublin Residential The number of potential units in Strategic Housing Developments (SHDs) in Dublin that have either been quashed or held up by judicial reviews jumped by more than 1,000% last year. In its annual report on the construction sector, Construction Consultants Mitchell McDermott said that while only 508 potential housing units were affected by judicial reviews in Dublin in 2019, that figure jumped to 5,802 last year. Nationally, there has been a seven-fold increase from 1,048 units affected in 2019 to 6,969 in 2020. The report noted that almost 65,000 residential units have been granted planning permission under the SHD process since its introduction in 2017 with a SHD application takes about 40 weeks. According to the report, overall construction costs increased by 3.4% last year and are predicted to rise by between 2.5% and 3% this year but this could be higher because of supply chain bottlenecks and Brexit-related disruption. It estimated the value of construction output in the Republic remained unchanged at €23 billion last year despite the impact of Covid-19. Output in 2021 is, however, forecast to fall to €20 billion because of the current lockdown, which has resulted in the closure of most building sites. The Irish Times, 23rd February
HOTEL
New Hotels More than 4,000 new hotel beds will be completed in Dublin this year, boosting overall stock in the city by nearly one-fifth, according to the annual Mitchell McDermott construction sector report. The report predicts that 4,177 new beds are due to be completed in Dublin in 2021, compared to only 380 in 2020. The new beds will increase Dublin’s existing hotel stock, which currently stands at more than 24,000 beds, by 17%. The report also notes that a lot of the new hotel schemes due to start construction in 2021 are currently on hold. The Business Post, 23rd February
OTHER
AIB Loan Sale AIB has announced that they have agreed to sell a portfolio of mortgages which are deeply in arears. The original value of the portfolio known as Project Oak is reported to be €1bn and with Apollo purchasing the portfolio for c€400m. Some 92% of the loans are against owner-occupied homes, with the remainder secured against buy-to-let and mixed-use properties. The portfolio extends across about 3,500 properties. The average loan stands at €300,000 and is in arrears on payment to the tune of about €95,000. Mars Capital Finance Ireland is contracted to service the loans on behalf of Apollo. The Irish Times, 19th February
Mallow Cork Aedifica, a Brussels-listed healthcare real estate investment company, has acquired the Bridhaven care home in Mallow, Co Cork, for €25m, marking its first investment in Ireland. The care home has 184 rooms (€139k per room). Aedifica has a market valuation of c. €3bn has developed a portfolio of more than 490 sites in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Sweden and Ireland. Bridhaven is currently operated by Virtue who are part of the Emera group they currently operate 650 beds in Ireland with 90 more to be added in 2021. They operate the care home on a 25-year lease. The Irish Independent, 21st February
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