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Tuesday 25 November 2014

Property market facing more certain 2015

The property market is facing a more certain 2015 following a period of uneven growth nationwide over the past 18 months, according to national estate agency group Real Estate Alliance.

Real Estate Alliance (REA) is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with almost 50 branches nationwide, comprising many of the country’s longest-established auctioneers and estate agents.

“We are definitely seeing the market taking its breath in the more-heated sectors, such as Dublin, where we have seen a softening of demand over the past six weeks,” said incoming REA Chairman Seamus Carthy of REA Seamus Carthy, Castlerea & Roscommon.

“In Dublin you are still going to have a lack of supply and no great increase in the new homes coming to market.

“However, the panic buying has gone out of a market that had seen an average house appreciate by almost 31% over the past 18 months.

“Our REA Average House Price surveys throughout 2014 identified the emergence of a three-tier market.

“Demand and prices in tier two, which is the commuter belt and major cities such as Cork and Galway, are beginning to take on a more predictable look after rapid growth in 2014.

“There will still be a demand nationally in 2015 for 20-25,000 new homes which will not be satisfied due to a lack of availability.

“Market forces will dictate and that you will see increases in most sectors, albeit at a more measured level than experienced over the previous 15 months.

“The third tier, which are the remaining towns and surrounding areas, have shown an increase in recent months, albeit at a sustainable level, and for the first time each county has shown an increase.

“Notably, in tiers two and three, we are seeing a steady continuation of the recent reductions in time taken to sell, and an increase in mortgage-backed buyers.”

CEO Philip Farrell has hailed the past year as an exciting one for the group and the property market.

“We have seen REA increase their membership to 52 branches nationwide and the group’s profile rise thanks to our members giving an informed an qualified view of the market through our average house price surveys.

“We hope to be announcing a number of new offices in the new future and have expanded out head office staff by three.”


REA Board 2015: Chairman: Seamus Carthy (REA Seamus Carthy, Castlerea & Roscommon Town), Vice Chair: Michael O’Connor (REA O’Connor Murphy, Limerick), Barry McDonald (REA McDonald, Lucan), Harry Sothern (REA Sothern, Carlow), Michael Gunne (REA Gunne Property, Dundalk), Eamonn Spratt (REA Spratt, Dungarvan), Joe Brady (REA Brady, Carrick-on-Shannon), Eoin Dillon (REA Dillon, Nenagh), Liam Browne (REA Paddy Browne, Ennis).

REA O'Keeffe of Charleville joins REA

Ireland’s fastest-growing network, Real Estate Alliance, have announced the addition of REA O’Keeffe in Charleville to its national roster.

Real Estate Alliance (REA) is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with over 50 branches nationwide, comprising many of the country’s longest-established auctioneers and estate agents.



The innovative Group this week unveiled its new member in Charleville, adding to its growing national footprint.

“We are delighted to welcome Sarah O’Keeffe of REA O’Keeffe on board. Her firm represents the type of firm which Real Estate Alliance is proud to be associated with – experienced, professional and qualified,” said REA CEO Philip Farrell.

“The combination of business being distributed to REA agents from central office, together with the requirement that all agents must be accredited Chartered Surveyors is proving a major attraction to new members.

“Members enjoy the fact that Real Estate Alliance is different from other property groups and they can tap-in to the wealth of knowledge within the group which is particularly useful in valuation work.

“The recent addition of our new Property Tracker system that interfaces with the clients to give real-time reports to banks and receivers, allows agent and client to deal with sales and management in a much more efficient manner.”

Sarah O’Keeffe of REA O’Keeffe in Charleville has joined the Alliance due to the Group’s increase presence on the national stage and expert take on the property market.

“We feel that the progressive approach which REA are currently showing in the market place is a vindication of their belief in the positive future which is ahead of us, both in terms of our economy and the property sector,” she said.

“REA are visible, innovative, effective, and their nationwide view on the market through their continued surveying is one that provides a realistic and trustworthy message to both buyers and sellers.”

Ends


Friday 21 November 2014

Auction in Limerick on the 20th of November a huge success

REA O'Connor Murphy held an Auction on the 20th of November at 12pm in the Strand Hotel. Contact REA O'Connor on 061279300. Four properties went under the hammer with all Lots selling in excess of the reserves. Main Development Land at Rosmor made €590,000 with a guide at €225,000 to €275,000.
Retail unit at Woolworth Lane, Limerick
Building with potential at Myles Street, Limerick
Industrial Unit at 4B Eastway Business Park, Ballysimon Road, Limerick
DEVELOPMENT LANDS at Rosmor, Old Cork Road, Limerick. More Details

Thursday 20 November 2014

Seamus Carthy appointed a new Chairman of REA

At the Real Estate Alliance AGM last week we announced the appointment of REA’s new Chairman, Seamus Carthy of REA Seamus Carthy in Castlerea & Roscommon Town. He will be supported by the vice Chairman Michael O'Connor of REA O'Connor Murphy and the board including agents from the various firms in REA. (L-R Michael Gunne, Liam Browne, Barry McDonald, Michael O'Connor, Seamus Carthy, Harry Sothern, Joe Brady, Eoin Dillon and Eamonn Spratt). A great team!




Thursday 13 November 2014

Auction of Former Development Lands in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary on 4th December 2014 at 3pm

Auction to be held of Former Development Lands (8.09 ha) in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary on 4th December 2014 at 3pm.
REA Eoin Dillon are holding an Auction on Thursday, 4th December 2014 at 3pm in the Ormond Hotel, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. The subject lands are an impressive parcel of former development lands comprising of 8.09 ha (20 acres) available in one lot with long term development potential (subject to Planning Permission).
AMV €200,000 inc VAT.
Contact REA Eoin Dillon on 067-33468 or info@readillon.ie
More Details

Friday 7 November 2014

Women have the final call when it comes to buying Ireland's homes

When it comes to a couple's ultimate decision about whether or not to buy a home, who really makes the final call - the man or the woman?
In the UK, the last survey on the subject was conducted by the FindaProperty portal, which determined that women make that vital decision - by a majority of almost two-thirds (63pc) to one-third (37pc) to the men.
The data would not surprise Irish estate agents who have always maintained women are in the driving seat when it comes to the final say on buying a home.
But to what extent?
Independent Property commissioned theReal Estate Alliance - a network of established estate agency businesses with bases in all 26 counties - to survey their members with the following questions:
* In the case of couples buying homes, which partner's opinions carry the most weight in achieving the final decision to purchase?
*For women, what are the most important factors in choosing a home?
*What are the deal breakers for women?
In the latter case we threw in some examples (location, price, space) and we included one stereotypical red herring - "too dirty" - to make things interesting.
* We then asked their members if they had any general observations to make about men and women and how they behaved in the house buying process.
The results, compiled from the views of the 35 estate agency firms around the country who responded, very conclusively show that Irish women are even more dominant as final decision makers in the house buying process than their UK counterparts.
As compared with 63pc in the UK, amongst Irish home-buying couples, the REA firms estimated a phenomenal 97pc of final decision making was made by the woman - compared with a minuscule 3pc for men.
And despite the stereotype women were not as focused on the cost of property as their men, the resulting REA survey demonstrates clearly the cost of the property and the mortgage repayments ahead are firmly on the woman's agenda - along with her children's education.
Price and schools were tied (41pc) as the two items most commonly included in the top three most important factors REA agents said were vital for the female half of the buying couples they dealt with.
Next up came decor - with 37pc citing it came in women's top three. Next came the quality and size of the kitchen (19pc had it in their top three women's priorities).
The next most common top-three priority was the garden at 16pc and finally, and perhaps surprisingly, came the home's overall layout at just 6pc.
But the adage location, location, location has not been forgotten - it ranks as the biggest deal-breaker for women according to the 35 REA firms who responded - on a "deal-breaker factor" of 1 to 5, with five being most vital, location ranked 3.3 just ahead of "not enough space" at 2.9, price as a deal-breaker came third at 2.94 but, perhaps surprisingly, "too dirty" was afforded a deal-breaker factor of 2.53 out of five.
Closer inspection shows that only 9pc of agents surveyed said that dirt was "not important" to women buyers. In fact 47pc said dirt was "important" with 26pc stressing this issue as "very important" and 18pc rating this factor as "essential". This statistic suggests almost one in five women might not buy a house because it is dirty.
Louth-based estate agent Darina Collins sees no surprises in the survey results after more than 20 years selling houses. Collins is the joint owner of the REA Collins O'Brien estate agency in Drogheda along with partner Gabriel O'Brien. Their clients are a mix of city commuters and town and rural based clients. In her view the survey largely reflects her experiences.
"We have an in joke in estate agency that if she hates it and he likes it there's no chance of a sale, but if he hates it and she likes it there's always a chance.
"By and large, even in a modern society where women work, they will tend to have more invested in a home thanks to their children. So it is natural that women tend to make the most important of decisions.
"What we tend to see is she does all the running in the home hunting, she makes first contact and at a viewing, she leads the questions while he goes around banging on walls and turning on the taps.
"While the men are looking under sinks, she is looking in the wardrobes to see if they are deep enough. And even if he's the one who leads the viewing and asks all the questions - men normally ask about practical issues like BER ratings and structural stuff like whether the house is timber frame - then she's still likely to be the one who will make that decision.
"What I always see is that women buy from the heart whereas men tend to be caught between stools - between the practical and the heart. In complete contrast, if either are buying an investment property then both will behave totally differently, they will be cold, practical and calculating."
So what about the surprisingly high ranking of dirt as a deal-breaker - isn't that reinforcing a sexist cliché?
"Well, undeniably there's the 'yeuch' factor but I also believe this is based on a solid foundation - on the idea that if this home has not been properly cleaned for a viewing then it's likely it hasn't been taken care of in general. Men think that as well."
So for those selling their homes today, what can they learn from this survey - other than that it is safe to assume that understanding their core market must mean appealing to women?
"If your house has a structural problem, then the buyer's surveyor is going to find this anyway, so there's no point in trying to hide it. However, it strongly suggests that when it comes to presentation, you must liven up the grout in your bathroom and ensure it is clean, you must make sure the house is presented as best you can.
"It's a cliche to suggest presenting the house well is important, but it's really surprising how many don't. The smallest things can put people off. If you forget to put a vacuum cleaner away for example and it's out in the open, then people will assume that there is no storage space to put it in - otherwise it would be in there.
"I recently sold an impeccably turned out house - the presentation added 17pc to the asking price. Had it been badly turned out, as many houses are, then we would have struggled to achieve the asking. It's as big a difference as that."

What the agents said: Men vs Women in house buying

* "Women get more emotionally attached to properties."
* "Women buy with their heart, men buy with their head."
* "The women are dominant in making the decisions, the men carry these out."
* "The woman's decision is final."
* "Men are easier pleased."
*"If she wants it, she gets it!"
* "Females are more practical."
* "Men buy for the present, women buy for the future."
* "The first point of contact is generally made by women (especially by phone) - 80pc of first viewings are arranged by women."

Monday 3 November 2014

Borrisokane Lands Sell at Auction - REA Dillon

On the 30th October 2014, REA Eoin Dillon held a public auction at the Ormond Hotel, Nenagh, Co Tipperary in relation to 5.56 hectares (13.72 acres) of former development lands at Bushypark, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary.  The lands once had planning permission for 41 houses and provision for a further 28 houses.  They were also subject to a right of way and way-leave.  The advised minimum value was €150,000.

The auctioneer opened the auction seeking bids of €150,000 and dropped in €10,000’s before the first bidder a local farmer and contractor got the bidding off.  A local solicitor then immediately bid €125,000 and one more bid of €5,000 being received to bring the bidding to €130,000, from there on the bidding was fast and a two horse race ensued with25 bids of €2,500 being made before the auctioneer broke to discuss the matter with the vendors at €192,500 and to give the bidders a chance to catch their breath.   On his return the auctioneer immediately announced that the property was on the market and a bid of €200,000 was received from the farmer/contractor.  The farmer and solicitor quickly exchanged bids of €2,500 before the hammer fell to the farmer/contractor at €215,000.  The sale price represented a price of €15,670 per acre (€38,722 per hectare).  Speaking after the Auction the auctioneer said that the sale was an important step in drawing a line in the sand and restoring confidence in the market that the development land market had bottomed out and there was a market for good quality well located lands.   The same agent also agreed the sale of 7.6 acres of lands at Coolaholloga, Nenagh by Private treaty on the same day for what is believed to be close to €8,600 per acre.  Rea Dillon will shortly be auctioning over 20 acres of former development lands at Tyone Nenagh.  The lands once had the benefit of planning permission for over 200 houses and will be offered for sale by auction on the 6th of December with a guide price of €200,000 inc VAT.