Unsurprisingly, the broadsheets today are exceptionally light on business, construction and property content today after the short week and ‘builders holidays’. The Papal visit and Ryanair dominate the lead stories and much of the commentary, however, all of the main industry stories from throughout the week are linked to below. As always, you might let me know if I have missed out on any relevant property news by emailing carol@caroltallon.com.
If you missed last week’s Sunday Property Round-Up you can catch up here: https://propertydistrict.ie/sunday-property-round-up-august-5th-2018/
(Apologies in advance for any typos, it’s difficult to get good help on a Sunday. Also, I use voice to text dictation so just sound out anything that really doesn’t make sense in a strong rural accent and that should help!)
Sunday Read
Why rents, not property prices, are best to assess housing supply and need-driven demand
and
What if houses were designed like bikes?
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the factory-built Futuro House, it’s time for a radical rethinking of architectural manufacturing” (photo above)
The Agile Agent
Getting Ireland’s property marketplace digital by default
Estate agents and auctioneers across Ireland have about 10 days left to apply for ‘The Agile Agent’ 12-month digital transformation programme, which will kick off in September. This programme will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary Irish and UK team and will go beyond proptech adoption to help agents get their industry digital by default. The ‘buddy system’ is something that we have been trialling among a few existing clients in an informal way and when it works, that is to say, when trust is formed and real sharing starts to happen, it is great for both agencies. By the way, this is something that I encourage all agents (and all businesses for that matter!) to try out, it can be a great resource, like an experienced but objective sounding board.
For further programme details and free monthly Proptech Prompts, please
Other Property News
- The Sunday Times reports that Apollo Global Management is in talks to buy hotel group Tifco, which is the second-largest hotel group in Ireland with 18 hotels.
- Also in the Times, Seamus Ross is apparently “poised to quit talks with the quoted cash shell Zamano on a deal to reverse some of his residential property development interests into the outfit“. We’ve been watching this story unfold and refold over the past few months, curious of what the impact of another publicly quoted Irish homebuilder would have on the marketplace. We will continue to watch.
- Niall Molloy (Crag Digital Avoca, also Aldgate Developments) Is reportedly planning to build a new data centre at a 32 acre site near Arklow in Wicklow.
- Niall Brady has an article in the Sunday Times today suggesting that, “the pace of mortgage lending is set to slow for the rest of 2018 after Permanent TSB and KBC bank, the only banks still allowing exceptions from lending rules for first time buyers, tighten their credit requirements“. This is contrary to the market commentary published by Davy in recent weeks which indicated that, despite a slowdown, mortgage lending in Ireland is set to rise by 20% by the end of 2018.
- The Sunday Independent takes the most interesting approach to housing across its comments page today. Wayne O’Connor reports from Charlestown in County Mayo “roaring Ireland is not dying. Once again it is changing and adapting to a new world“. The reporter visits local businesses and interviews people on the streets of this town in the west of Ireland. One local business owner interviewed summed it up quite well by saying “People are living here but their lives are somewhere else. They settled here but they might work in Castlebar or Westport. It is progressive in one respect, because people have three cars in the driveway. But people used to be coming into town all the time before and you don’t see that any more. You see it with the older generation but the younger generation coming up wouldn’t have the same ties to the community.“
- On the same page the always-insightful Conor Skehan writes that “Old Main Street is a dead end, let’s look for another way ahead“. This commentary piece is uncharacteristically prose-driven rather than laced with the usual rural housing statistics, however it makes for compelling reading and I recommend that if you only take the time to read one media feature today, let it be this one on page 14 of the Sunday Independent.
- In the same newspaper Colm McCarty asks the question “How can living in Dublin cost more than Geneva?“ it is very compelling question but no answer is provided. In an adjoining article, Niamh Horan goes some way to explain this, attributing “Googleland“ rent hikes on “high-flying executives on six-figure salaries“.
- Conall Mac Coille writes that “Search and building costs and skills shortages can hammer State plans“. This commentary refers to the SCSI report issued last week (point below), which indicated building cost inflation of 7% for 2018. This article focuses on increasing building costs, increasingly unreasonable or unrealistic targets set by Rebuilding Ireland and the difficulty in enticing our most recent wave of emigrants home. There is no mention of how technology across the industry is driving efficiencies in terms of the materials used, and how those materials are manufactured i.e. offsite construction, which requires significantly less labour. At this stage, our policy makers need to be following international standards of best practice to facilitate and support offsite manufacturing in order to speed up delivery under Rebuilding Ireland.
- Building costs rapidly rising to Celtic Tiger peak: surveyors https://amp-independent-ie.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/building-costs-rapidly-rising-to-celtic-tiger-peak-surveyors-37191115.html
- Fixed-rate mortgage warning on ECB rate rise https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/fixed-rate-mortgage-warning-on-ecb-rate-rise-861492.html
- Planning backlog stalls College Green and Poolbeg schemes https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/planning-backlog-stalls-college-green-and-poolbeg-schemes-1.3589201?mode=amp
- This long-vacant Dublin 2 site has the green light to be turned into a hotelhttps://fora.ie/georges-street-hotel-plan-4173701-Aug2018/
- Housing activists occupy vacant Dublin property https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/housing-activists-occupy-vacant-dublin-property-1.3589152?mode=amp
- Dublin will fail unless housing crisis is tackled: The council is prioritising developments for visitors to capital, not its inhabitants https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/opinion/una-mullally-dublin-will-fail-unless-housing-crisis-is-tackled-1.3587152?mode=amp
- One in six worry they will never afford a home, survey showshttps://m.herald.ie/news/one-in-six-worry-they-will-never-afford-a-home-survey-shows-37191479.html
- 70% of Irish people prefer new homes, survey reveals – The Avondhu Newspaperhttps://avondhupress.ie/70-of-irish-people-prefer-new-homes-survey-reveals/
- Time to resolve unsustainable mortgages once and for all https://amp-independent-ie.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/time-to-resolve-unsustainable-mortgages-once-and-for-all-37185510.html
- Developer (Bartra Capital) doubles down in Dalkey with purchase beside Pat Kenny for €3.1m https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/developer-doubles-down-in-dalkey-with-purchase-beside-pat-kenny-for-3-1m-1.3587044?mode=amp
- Lidl’s housebuilding plans the future for city sites, say experts https://www.building.co.uk/news/lidls-housebuilding-plans-the-future-for-city-sites-say-experts/5094864.article
- Tánaiste welcomes revised planning application for enlarged Cork events centrehttps://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/tanaiste-welcomes-revised-planning-application-for-enlarged-cork-events-centre-861271.html
- Bank of Ireland have committed €1 billion of funding for construction and development – Construction Industry Federation https://cif.ie/2018/08/07/bank-of-ireland-have-committed-e1-billion-of-funding-for-construction-and-development/
- PRS boom brings new wave of investment into Ireland: AXA IM and Kennedy Wilson have acquired 274 flats and a four acre development site at The Grange in Dublin for €161m on behalf of their newly formed Irish PRS joint venture https://www.propertyweek.com/resi/prs-boom-brings-new-wave-of-investment-into-ireland-/5097879.article#.W1nrrRXhWxs.linkedin
- Minister Murphy publishes Draft Guidelines on Urban Development and Building Heights for public consultation – Rebuilding Ireland http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-draft-guidelines-on-urban-development-and-building-heights-for-public-consultation/
- Increase in State-funded social tenancies at I-RES REIT https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0809/983942-housing-social-tenancies/
- Growing residential sector in the Greater Dublin Area sees strong upsurge in the development land market https://www.sherryfitz.ie/news/2715
- New £75m Belfast development to have rooftop running track https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/new-75m-belfast-development-to-have-rooftop-running-track-1.3587276?mode=amp
- Giant’s Causeway-inspired building for UCD https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/education/giant-s-causeway-inspired-building-for-ucd-1.3587986?mode=amp
- The End of the Global Housing Boom https://www-bloomberg-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-07-31/are-house-prices-falling-from-sydney-to-new-york
Proptech and Construction Innovation
- International proptech accelerator open for applications: AcceliCITY
As recently reported, Proptech Ireland has been selected to partner with Boston-based Leading Cities organisation to innovate technology-driven solutions for Smart Cities. This is a massive leap forward for Ireland-based innovators, who will have the opportunity to pitch their planning, construction and property solutions to cities all around the world. It is also important validation for the work coming from this emerging sector. This takes a decade of ‘Smart City’ initiatives to the next exciting level. Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny was recently appointed to the Global Advisory Board and the global accelerator program AcceliCITY will now have a delivery based here in Ireland, in addition to the Boston program and Barcelona Smart City EXPO: http://buildingirelandmagazine.ie/proptech-ireland-selected-to-partner-with-boston-based-organisation-to-innovate-technology-driven-solutions-for-smart-cities/
- Embracing Proptech Is The Future According To Conveyancers https://www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk/main-news/embracing-proptech-future-according-conveyancers/
- The Rise Of Virtual Reality In Real Estate – VR And Real Estate: Untapped Potential For A Technology Revolution https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2017/06/13/the-rise-of-virtual-reality-in-real-estate/
- Real estate developers in Asia-Pacific are banking on #PropTech for growth: Here’s why?https://techobserver.in/article/enterprise-it/real-estate-developers-in-asia-pacific-are-banking-on-proptech-for-growth-heres-why
- Innovation Drivers That Are Revolutionizing The World Of Property Tech | MustTech News https://www.musttechnews.com/innovation-drivers-revolutionizing-property-tech/
- Value of #proptech in Off-Market Deal Making – #CRETECH https://www.cretech.com/cretech-blog/guest-blog-value-of-tech-in-off-market-deal-making/
- Zillow to acquire Mortgage Lenders of America https://bit.ly/2KwrZml
- ‘Housing: profiting from #proptech’ https://www.propertyweek.com/resi/special-resi-issue-key-talking-points/5098095.article
- These are the most sustainably powered cities in the U.S. https://amp-fastcompany-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.fastcompany.com/90213497/these-are-the-most-sustainably-powered-cities-in-the-u-s
- The #construction industry space race is on – FULL VIDEO: https://lnkd.in/dFrHGxy
- Are you an Irish-led or Ireland-based #proptech business? If so, please take five minutes to add or update your details to our internationally-shared listing here: SIGN UP: http://prop-tech.ie/proptech-innovators-ireland/ and to keep up-to-date on all things tech and innovation for the planning, construction and property industries, head over to http://www.prop-tech.ie, the national resource website for innovators, investors and mentors or email news@proptech.ie .
Property Insiders Guide
As many of you might know, my annual property book The Irish Property Buyers’ Handbook (since 2011) has undergone a rebrand for 2018 and will now appear as part of The Property Insider series, published by Oak Tree Press, the first three titles are now published and available here.