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Monday 23 March 2015

UK-based buying boom in Ireland is gathering pace thanks to the strength of sterling

The UK-based buying boom in Ireland is gathering pace thanks to the strength of sterling, according to Real Estate Alliance who held a successful Irish Property Exhibition in London last weekend.
REA members were delighted with the success of the Campaign promoting the exhibition at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre in central London. The campaign attracted a large volume of inquiries in advance, during and post with over 90% of whom were potential cash purchasers.
“Our agents were really pleased to talk with so many quality cash buyers over the course of the campaign and they expect those conversations to very quickly convert into sales,” said REA Chief Executive Philip Farrell.
“Many of those UK buyers have already made plans to travel to Ireland to view their potential properties.
A survey of REA members shows that enquiries from the UK have increased by 13% on average to agents outside of Dublin in the past two months.
And there has been a corresponding 25% annual increase in enquiries about Real Estate Alliance properties listed on top UK site rightmove.co.uk.
 “Conversations with attendees showed that the vast majority of them were committed to buying in Ireland, with over half of them aiming to spend between €100,000 and €200,000,” said Philip Farrell.
“The average UK home now costs €236,635 whereas in Ireland it is close to €180,000, and the strength of sterling is magnifying this.
“UK buyer interest is manifesting itself differently to the existing Irish market in a number of ways, with big surges in interest in many undervalued rural counties and also scenic and coastal locations.
“This presents many vendors with the opportunity of achieving better prices due to interest outside of the normal marketplace.
“Rural properties in the UK cost an average of €67,000 more than urban properties – quite the opposite of the Irish market.
“UK buyers are being priced out of rural properties in their own country, so for many their only chance of an ‘escape to the country’ is a move to our country.
“We are also seeing interest from UK investors who are priced out of their own market and feel that they have reached the top of their curve and are looking for capital growth and yield in Ireland.” Their partner at the event included Smart Currency http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/
Real Estate Alliance (REA) is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with over 55 branches nationwide, comprising many of the country’s longest-established auctioneers and estate agents.

Available for interview:
Philip Farrell, CEO Real Estate Alliance
086 250 3515 / philip@realestatealliance.ie

For further information on exhibition contact:
Eimer O’Keefe, Real Estate Alliance
086 8249040 / eimer@realestatealliance.ie
Media information:

Darren Hughes, MediaConsult 086 2937037 / darren@mediaconsult.ie  

Thursday 19 March 2015

Quality Properties For Sale by Public Auction through REA Seamus Carthy

Seamus Carthy of REA Seamus Carthy with offices in Roscommon Town and Castlerea Town is holding an auction with mulitple properties on the 17th of April. All with very Keen Reserves ranging from €20,000 - €55,000,  the Public Auction will be held in Carthys Bar & Guesthouse, Castle Street, Roscommon Town on Friday 17th April at 3 pm sharp
More Details
The deposit payable is 10% of purchase price. If you are an Irish resident this is payable by way of cheque or bank draft drawn on an Irish bank and made payable to REA Seamus Carthy. If you are a non-resident, it is payable by Euro bank draft only drawn on an Irish bank. In the event that a cheque presented for a deposit is returned unpaid, the purchaser will make themselves liable to legal proceedings in relation to the unpaid cheque and the balance of the purchase proceeds. It shall not be permissible to pay a deposit by cash.  No credit/debit card facilities will be available. 

Deposits will be held by REA Seamus Carthy and not the Vendors Solicitor.

Quality Properties For Sale by Public Auction through REA Seamus Carthy

Seamus Carthy of REA Seamus Carthy with offices in Roscommon Town and Castlerea Town, announces the upcoming Sale of a number of Quality Residential Properties by Public Auction.   All with very Keen Reserves ranging from €20,000 - €55,000,  the Public Auction will be held in Carthys Bar & Guesthouse, Castle Street, Roscommon Town on Friday 17th April at 3 pm sharp. The Instructions received from Private Vendors Offer excellent opportunities for owner occupiers/investors/Developers and the mix of opportunities start with Lot 1, an excellently located 3 bedroom Terraced House, currently rented (vacant possession available) in the heart of Castlerea Town close to all amenities at 13 Arm opposite Castlerea Golf Club in a small cul de sac setting.  Comprising of 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, Kitchen and Living, the said property has gardens to front and rear and a Fuel store.  The Reserve for Lot 1 is €20,000 (Twenty Thousand Euro). Lot 2 is a 4 Bedroom Detached Residence situated on a most prime site in the sought after and mature Residential Setting of Knockroe.  No. 6 Knockroe, comprises of 4 Bedrooms, 2 Reception Rooms, Kitchen, Bathroom and W.C and with Well Presented Homes selling in the area for €140,000 - €150,000, the said properties Reserve of €55,000 (Fifty Five Thousand) offers another quality opportunity to the marketplace.  Lot 3 is a former Nursing Home with 7 bedrooms situated in a high profile location within Castlerea Town on the Castlerea/Tulsk Road.  Suitable to a variety of uses both Residential and Commercial, the Properties position is considered to be situated on a most prime site/location.  The Reserve is €45,000 (Forty Five Thousand).  Lot 4 is a 3 bedroom Detached Bungalow that was in the process of remodernisation on 1.82 Acres situated at Arm Cashel.  The said properties offers enormous potential with the main Town Sewer running alongside the property.  Reserve is €40,000 (Forty Thousand Euro).  Lot 5, adjoins and is the Town side of Lot 4 and consists of a 3 Bedroom Detached Bungalow (Currently Rented - Vacant Possession Available) on 1.53 Acres.  Again Potential is obvious.  Reserve is €40,000 (Forty Thousand Euro).  Lot 6 consists of a new build unfinished 3 Bedroom Bungalow situated on the outskirts of Ballyleague Village in the direction of Roscommon Town.  Quality Location on a .56 Acre site.  Reserve is €40,000.  The Final Lot is Lot 7 and will be of interest to the Investor/Developer.  Comprising 10, 11, & 12 Hanley Avenue, these 3 Semi Detached Homes will be Sold as one Lot.  No 10: Relatively Complete and Previously Occupied. No 11: Incomplete (Internal Layout Complete). No 12: Incomplete (First Floor is Open Plan) Hanley Avenue is A Small Housing Development of only 12 Houses situated in the heart of Loughglynn Village.  With a recent Sale of a Semi Detached Home in the Coillte Bo Development within Loughglynn of €46,000, the Reserve set for the entire 3 Houses as one lot is €50,000.  (Fifty Thousand Euro).  For further details contact REA Seamus Carthy – Roscommon Office 090 6630001, Castlerea Office 094 96 25990 or info@reacarthy.ie. 

Monday 16 March 2015

Ballintotty - Nenagh Auction Result 100% Success, 5 out of 5 lots sold.

REA Eoin Dillon of Nenagh offered a residential farm for sale by public auction at Ballintotty, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.  There was a large crowd in attendance at the Abbey Court Hotel and the late comers had to avail of standing room only with many observers choosing to observe from the hall outside the room.  The crowd was no doubt helped by the inclement weather on the afternoon with little opportunity for ploughing or spreading slurry. 
The property was offered for sale in 6 different lots. Lot 1 was a parcel of 19.13 acres (7.742 hectares), of which 6 acres were planted in trees since 2001 and the remainder of approximately 13 acres was reasonable quality grass lands.  The agent started seeking bids of €130,000 and dropped in increments of €10,000 to €100,000 where a local farmer opened the bidding, this was quickly followed by a local solicitor who offered €105,000 and they exchanged bids of €5,000, to €115,000.  At this stage the auctioneer announced that the property was not on the market yet but was close to the reserve and the lot was parked while they offered the next few lots.  Lot 2 was 7.5 acres and comprised of 6 acres of forestry and 1.5 acres of poor quality grass land.  The agent sought bids of €30,000, €25,000 and €20,000. There were no bids and accordingly they quickly moved on to lot 3.  Lot 3 comprised of 14.853 hectares (36.7 acres) of forestry, again €130,000 was sought and the agent went down in €5,000 segments seeking an opening bid.  An opening bid of €110,000 was then received from a solicitor acting in trust, there were no further bidders for this section and a short break was taken to discuss the first 3 lots with the vendor. 
On resuming the auction the auctioneer announced that we were €5,000 away from being able to put Lot 1 on the market and a bid of €120,000 was quickly received from a local auctioneer acting in trust and the land was officially placed on the market.  The solicitor duly obliged and offered €125,000 before the land was knocked down to him acting in trust for a young local farmer. 
Lot 4 comprised of the house on 7 acres (to include approximately 6 acres of forestry) again an opening offer of €130,000 was sought and the agent worked the room seeking bids before an opening offer of €90,000 was received from a young couple.  A second young couple then entered the race and the property quickly climbed in bids of €5,000 to €130,000.  As lots 4 and 5 were also being offered as a joint lot (Lot 6) this offer was parked while the agent offered lot 5.  Lot 5 was a single stubble field comprising of approximately 40 acres of what can only be described as very good land with excellent road frontage.  It was clear from the off that this was what everybody was interested in.  The Agent sought offers at €450,000 and went down in €10,000 to €350,000 before an opening bid of €350,000 was made by a local solicitor acting in trust for a local farmer.  A second bidder quickly emerged in the form of another local solicitor again acting for a local farmer.  In fact the two solicitors were from the same local firm acting for two separate clients. They quickly traded bids of €10,000 to €440,000 and then in €5,000 increments to €470,000 with no one else in the room getting a sniff of the action.  The biding stopped at €470,000 and the agent offered lot 6 for sale (Lot 6 was lot 4 and 5 combined).  Having a combined bid of €600,000 the auctioneer sought an opening offer of €605,000 there were no takers and after a very short break the agent came back and announced that he had instructions to put lot 4 the residence on 6.7 acres on the market at €130,000.  There were no further bidders and the lot was knocked down to the highest bidder at €130,000.  The Auctioneer Eoin Dillon then announced that he was also happy to say that Lot 5 was on the market at €470,000.  The bids then came fast and furious rising to €475,000, €480,000, €482,500, €485,000, €487,500, €490,000 €492,500, €495,000, €500,000, €502,500, €505,000, €510,000, €515,000, €520,000, €525,000, €530,000 before the final bid of €535,000 was received from a solicitor acting in trust or a local farmer.  The sale represented an extremely good price of just over €13,000 per acre.  Immediately after the auction offers were made by a number of parties for the remaining two lots and both were sold at what is believed to be at or very close to their original asking price and the auction contracts were signed. 

Speaking after the auction the selling agent Eoin Dillon said that he was delighted with the result, two hours previously he would have been delighted with if 3 out of the 5 lots were sold but to get all 5 lots sold on the day was incredible.  The prices for the lots were bang on what was expected with the main tillage field making the higher end of everybody’s expectations.  It just shows that where you have good land in a good location there is always a market for it.  It was also great to see that the purchasers of all 5 lots were hard working local persons seeking to expand their holdings and a in the case of the residence to set up a new family home.

Monday 9 March 2015

REA Sothern hold property Auction on the 2nd of April at the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow

REA Sothern are holding a property auction for 6 lots on the 2nd of April at the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow at 3pm. 
  • All sites form part of the successful Castle Oaks development with over 80 residential units sold to date.
  • On the Dublin side of Carlow, just 5 minutes drive to the M9 motorway and 50 minutes from Newlands Cross.
  • Connections available to all services including gas, water, sewerage etc
  • Solicitor: Paul O’Brien, McMahon O’Brien Tynan, Henry St, Limerick
This is a great opportunity for builders/developers/investors to purchase development sites in Castle Oaks, either for owner occupier use, (lots 5 & 6) or for current/future development, (lots 1, 2 & 4).
As the Carlow market continues to recover, values on the Dublin side of town are showing the greatest improvement due to the excellent road network to Dublin/Waterford, giving home owners a commutable option.  Castle Oaks once boasted the highest priced semi-detached and detached houses of any mixed development in Carlow.
Contact REA Sothern on 059 9131218 or www.reasothern.ie
More Details

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Exceptional Result at REA Grimes Co. Meath Auction

A prime development site at Bachelors Walk, Ashbourne sold at auction today for €750,000. This figure represents €200,000 over the guide price. The site has full planning permission for the construction of 6 detached residences on 0.445 hectares (1.1 acres). The auction attracted a high level of interest and bidding was brisk
More info on www.reagrimes.ie and contact 00353 1 8350333

Tuesday 3 March 2015

The strength of sterling has seen enquiries about Irish property sales to UK-based purchasers increase significantly

The strength of sterling has seen enquiries about Irish property sales to UK-based purchasers increase significantly in the past two months, according to the Real Estate Alliance network.

A survey of REA members shows that enquiries from the UK have increased by 13% on average to agents outside of Dublin in the past two months.

And there has been a corresponding 25% annual increase in enquiries about Real Estate Alliance properties listed on top UK site rightmove.co.uk.

Local REA agents will be among those bringing the best of Irish property for sale to the Alliance’s upcoming London Property Exhibition.

The exhibition takes place in the Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre in central London on Saturday March 21.

“REA are bringing thousands of homes for sale to London, giving a host of UK buyers the chance to browse in comfort and talk to the experts on the ground,” said Philip Farrell, CEO of Real Estate Alliance.

“The exhibition will be a comprehensive one-stop shop for potential property purchasers with legal and financial experts joining a network of Real Estate Alliance agents from throughout Ireland, all with unique properties to show.

“The average UK home now costs €236,635 whereas in Ireland it is close to €180,000, and the strength of sterling is magnifying this.

“UK buyer interest is manifesting itself differently to the existing Irish market in a number of ways, with big surges in interest in many undervalued rural counties and also scenic and coastal locations.

“This presents many vendors with the opportunity of achieving better prices due to interest outside of the normal marketplace.

“Rural properties in the UK cost an average of €67,000 more than urban properties – quite the opposite of the Irish market.

“UK buyers are being priced out of rural properties in their own country, so for many their only chance of an ‘escape to the country’ is a move to our country.

“We are also seeing interest from UK investors who are priced out of their own market and feel that they have reached the top of their curve and are looking for capital growth and yield in Ireland.”

Real Estate Alliance (REA) is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with over 55 branches nationwide, comprising many of the country’s longest-established auctioneers and estate agents.

Further details on the REA London Property Exhibition, and a list of local agents, can be found on www.realestatealliance.ie or send an email to register for the event at info@realestatealliance.ie.

Ends


For further information on exhibition contact:
Eimer O’Keefe, Real Estate Alliance
00353 86 8249040 / eimer@realestatealliance.ie

Media information:
Darren Hughes, MediaConsult 00353 86 2937037 / darren@mediaconsult.ie 




Monday 2 March 2015

Has the economy paused your Redecorating plans?

Has the economy paused your Redecorating plans? Fear not, 10 Top "R" Tips to transform your home from the doom and gloom during this Recession.
In today's economic downturn, cost cutting and drastic budgeting, all plans to redecorate our homes are put on the back burner for the time being. Just The thought of redecorating our home sounds crazy! In reality, redecorating our homes doesn’t need to cost a lot. All you need to do is plan wisely.
Make a plan today, pick a paint colour or throw out those old pictures tha­t are fading. Piece by piece, you'll get into the groove of t­urning the house into your designer home!

Remove: Change the impression of a room by taking out that extra piece of furniture that has been sitting there for years with no purpose. Now is the perfect time to go through those closets, shelves, garages and cabinets for "stuff" that is beginning to own you, rather than the other way around. Using some coloured Post-It notes, designate an area for your "absolutely must keep pieces". Using another colour of Post-It notes to mark those items that you use occasionally and will consider getting rid of. The third group is where the fun begins, "the donate or sell items". You don't have to mark these...just start a pile or throw them into a large box. Old clothes, CDs or cassettes you no longer listen to, appliances, sporting goods, bedding, etc....be ruthless.
Now, go back to pile number two and take out at least 25% of those items and add them to pile number three.

Repaint: It is amazing what a coat of paint can do for a boring table or chair. There are many tips out there both online and in paint shops showing you how to redo an old or run down piece of furniture. Country cream or French cream is all the trend at the moment in all the furniture stores, why not try updating your existing furniture pieces yourself. Try repainting that old pine coffee table or pine headboard for that up to date look.
Re Painting your interior walls is a relatively low cost solution to updating your interior look, especially if you paint them yourself. There's no need to go overboard with bright colours to achieve impact, thoughtful use of complimentary colour tones can result in a room that feels completely new without having to change your existing furnishings.
Repaint those old wooden picture frames to update their look.
Repainting solid wood kitchen cabinet doors that are looking a bit tired, will give them an instant facelift. Country Creams and Orchid White are current favourites and instantly change the style of your kitchen, while also creating a bright and fresh room.
Remember to always use a theme before you start your decorating - it may be a favourite colour scheme or a design theme that you found in a magazine.When you see something you like in your chosen magazine, cut it out and attach it to a mood board to create the style you would like to achieve, making notes as you go along. Make a list of what is needed to create this style.

Rearrange: Don’t be afraid to move furniture from one room to another to give it new life. Its amazing how one learns how to optimize space once we've removed everything out of the room and set out to restart with a blank canvas.
Change your seating arrangements to either open up a room or to make it cozier.
Move things around until you find a pleasing arrangement that works for you. Get rid of anything that does not fit properly and is rarely used.

Reuse: re use what you already have - there are so many items around the home that can be ‘recycled'. Have a good look as you may already have the items suited for that chosen style hidden away or simply just being used in the wrong environment.
Reuse old magazine covers. Try old or used bookstores for vintage magazine covers. Frame them and create a wall of fashion vintage elegance for that creative and stylish look.
Reuse fabric from sheets and quilts even old clothes to make cushions and curtain tie backs. A fresh group of cushions or a throw can update an old sofa instantly!

Reupholster: New upholstery can completely update a seating arrangement. Always price the job completely first as sometimes it can cost more than a new sofa suite. Remember to price the amount of fabric needed and how much the reupholster will charge to recover the suite. Always shop around!
A great couch is the centrepiece of your living room. Make it classic and make it comfortable. Your couch can be updated as home trends change.
Re upholster an old headboard to give it an up to date look and watch you bedroom style change dramatically.

Replace: Adding new drawer pulls or handles to a tired bedside table or bureau can totally change the impression it makes. Replace the handles to kitchen presses for that updated look!
Replace lampshades, this will give your lamp or light fitting an instant face lift. There are loads of home décor stores nationwide selling very stylish lampshades at very affordable prices.
There are plenty of shops out there selling great, trendy bedclothes at pocket saving prices. Remember to keep busy patterns at bay, go for plain duvet sets and dress up your bedroom with accessories like cushions and throws, which again might already be lying around the house or stored away in a closet.
Ready made curtains can also be purchased at very affordable prices and transform any room instantly.
Charity shops are also a great place to find bargains.
There are an amount of stores and department chains throughout the country catering for Interiors at such bargain prices. Even the good old “euro saver” style stores have fashionable accessories at very low prices. It’s all about keeping an eye out for the bargains and being smart with what you are spending your money on.

Retiling & Recarpeting: If its retiling and recarpeting that is needed to spruce up your home there are fantastic deals around nationwide at the moment and now is the time to hire tradesmen at cost effective prices! But remember always price around for the best deals.

Redecorate & Revive: The most important lesson is that, just as our bodies and our minds are temples, so is our home. It is meant to be a place of tranquility, peace and serenity. Our home should be our retreat from the daily grind and pressures of life. However, before undergoing any redecorating transformation, you have to put your mind in a peaceful state first!