Sunday Property Round-Up, June 10th 2018

 

It was a busy week for property in Ireland. In addition to scanning the broadsheets this morning, I have captured some of the biggest stories below including construction and proptech news – don’t miss the article on 3D printed homes in Europe.  If you haven’t read last week’s Round-Up, you can catch up here:  https://propertydistrict.ie/sunday-property-round-up-june-3rd-2018/

As always, you might let me know if I have missed out on any relevant property news by emailing  carol@caroltallon.com.

 (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

Have Irish developers and planners woken up to meaningful public engagement that works yet? (*details of the PLACEengage Irish platform trial from Sept. 2018 to May 2019 will be announced this month*)

 

 

 

New Reit on the Block

 

 

  • Gavin Daly, writing  In The Sunday Times today confirms that Aib has taken a 9.75 stake in the newly-formed Yew Grove Reit.

 

  • Also, Ian Guider  has an article in The Sunday Business Post today reporting that the Reit “may tap investors for more cash next year as it looks to grow its assets up to €500, million“ (which, incidentally, is the figure Hibernia chief Kevin Nowlan said is the minimum required for successful Reit launch).

 

 

Other Property News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • According to Alan O ‘Keefe writing in the Sunday Independent today ‘House prices will continue rising for the next three years: Risk of a “bubble” but increasing new homes to balance market’.   This article is based on research from the ESRI  that indicates the cost of housing will keep climbing for the next three years, however, “if there are continuous strong rise in the cost buying homes over the next 18 months, there is the possibility of a property bubble emerging“.   Dr McCarthy of Savills is also quoted in the article as being sceptical of the most recent housing figures that show 19,300 new homes were built in 2017. He believes the true figure may be closer to 14,000. He also believes that 20,000 new homes will be built this year, however, 35,000 are needed annually to fulfil  demand.

 

 

  • Roisin Shortall  has an interesting opinion piece on page 24 of the Sunday Independent today talking about how “creating a special designation category for older peoples’ housing needs would help young and old – it makes sense to build specific elderly peoples accommodation and infill sites in our city“. This is an excellent piece and the approach makes absolute sense. We know that many people remain in houses that are simply too large for their current needs,  possibly after adult children have flown the nest.  No one is suggesting that people who wish to remain in their homes are encouraged to move, however, providing smaller, better designed and more appropriate accommodation for older people within their existing communities-this part is very important-is certainly one way to free up larger family homes within the city centre.

 

  • The lead business story in the Business section of the Sunday Independent today is a worrying one for the construction industry. It highlights recent  high-profile examinership’s and liquidations across Ireland’s construction sector.  It is certainly a worrying trend. While the article refers back to the collapse of Carillion, which certainly had far-reaching effects for Ireland’s supply chain, one of the more immediate problems appears to be the onerous “fixed price” public contracts  that do not even allow for inflation over a three-year period.

 

 

  • In the same newspaper today, Katy McGuinness  has a special report on buyers’ agency (the opposite to estate agency) in Ireland.  After more than a decade  of working  and building up this sector in Ireland,  I personally find it heartening to see the potential beginnings of an exciting new sector in Ireland’s property market, albeit decades behind global trends.  The article highlights the off-line approach taken by the current agents, which is an important element, however it is clear that achieving scale is still a problem. It will be interesting to watch how this niche sector embraces technology to access off-market  properties as we have seen in the UK, or perhaps as expert buyers these are the people to push for online bidding platforms for private treaty sales to ensure greater transparency and fewer delays in the conveyancing process for all buyers.  For buyers who perhaps fall between two stools in terms of wanting to do their own house-hunting yet needing access to up-to-date, relevant but Independent, local market information, check out buyersbroker.iefor a technology driven, independent research facility  for property buyers in Ireland (or www.buyersbrokerinternational.com for European and global research).

 

  • There is an article on the liquidation of Sammon Contracting on page 12 of the SBP today. Apparently debt funding of 15 million was required, however, the company fell short in securing this.  It is the latest in a series of high-profile casualties across the Co are industry.

 

  • Property Industry Ireland, part of IBEC, has a special feature on pages 26 and 27 of the SBP today in advance of its annual conference this week.  The focus of the conference is on ‘Planning for Future Communities’.

 

  • Also in the the SBP today,   Donal Buckley reports that Weston office rents lag behind the capital. “At about 350 per square metre, office rents in Galway and Limerick are roughly half as expensive as those in Dublin“.

 

 

GDPR for Irish Real Estate Businesses

 

Comprehensive Guide to GDPR Compliance for Irish Real Estate Businesses          

https://propertydistrict.ie/comprehensive-guide-to-gdpr-compliance-for-irish-real-estate-businesses/

 

 

Proptech and Construction Innovation

 

 

 

 

  • Irish #proptech provider Property Button helping agents to tackle current rental chaos: https://irishtechnews.ie/property-button-gives-residential-tenants-the-tools-to-compete-in-dublins-hyper-competitive-market/amp/

 

 

 

 

  • 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.

 

 

 

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