The recent presidential visit dominates broadsheet commentary today so industry news is relatively light. Having said that, I have a number of international commentary pieces below that ought to be of relevance to Irish policy-makers. Also, we are heading into Placemaking Week Europe 2019 so any property developers, local authorities or AHBs wishing to highlight their work or any special initiatives may contact me directly on carol@caroltallon.com.
If you missed last week’s round-up, you can catch up here: https://propertydistrict.ie/category/sunday-property-review/
Before we get stuck into the general property news of the week, below are a few local and international stories that might be of particular interest:
- Green home construction in Houston yields mixed results https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/home/design/amp/Green-home-construction-in-Houston-yields-mixed-13917108.php
- ‘It’s a miracle’: Helsinki’s radical solution to homelessness | Cities | The Guardian https://amp.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet&__twitter_impression=true
- 10 ways cities are tackling the global affordable housing crisis https://bit.ly/2WQeOqy
- How could a Labour government de-financialise Britain’s housing market? | CityMetric https://www.citymetric.com/politics/how-could-labour-government-de-financialise-britain-s-housing-market-4630
- Outsourced property viewings now widespread among ‘best known’ estate agents https://thenegotiator.co.uk/outsourced-property-viewings-viewber/
- UK perspective: Housing construction rates fall to lowest level in six years as mortgage lending stalls | Housing | The Guardian https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/07/sluggish-housing-sector-pins-hopes-on-boost-from-lower-rates
- Very important: The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 changes the law for landlords and tenants. You can find out how these changes affect you by clicking here: https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/legislation-change
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 Listen
#PropertyMatters Ireland’s First Weekly Property Radio Show (& Podcast!):
Ireland’s first weekly property radio show, Property Matters, launched In January 2019 on Dublin South FM 93.9 and is now available internationally via iTunes and Spotify podcast (@iPropertyRadio). Seasoned political journalist and broadcaster, Bryan Fox, and I (Carol Tallon) team up to deliver 60 minutes of industry chat with guests from the areas of planning, construction, property and proptech. Produced by Katie Tallon of Hear Me Roar Media.
This week, we were joined in studio by Helen O’Keefe and Eddie O’Driscoll of Auctioneera – the fixed priced estate agency – to talk all things proptech and to question how a low-cost auctioneering model can be sustained; Paul O’Connor from ACASM explains the evolution of building management systems and how AI is key in successful, ongoing predictive (prescriptive?) maintenance; Ed Burke, founder of RooMigo joined us to talk about the rise in co-living and negative public reaction to the media commentary surrounding this – who is it serving and how?
Listen back to this episode here: https://anchor.fm/ipropertyradio/episodes/Property-Matters–June-4th-2019-e48rba
*Listen back to all #PropertyMatters episodes here: https://anchor.fm/ipropertyradio
Email the Property Matters team at hello@iPropertyRadio.com
PLACEMAKING
Public Consultation and Community Engagement
- Howth Castle and its future | PLACEengage https://placeengage.com/howth-castle-and-its-future/ [*It was just confirmed that Glenveagh has purchased seven of the 530 acres from new owners Tetrarch for €15 million to build up to 200 new homes].
- Dublin City Council ‘affordable homes’ starting at €116,000 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/dublin-city-council-affordable-homes-starting-at-116-000-1.3913520?mode=amp
- Housing estate deemed out of character with Cork village https://amp.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/housing-estate-deemed-out-of-character-with-cork-village-929294.html
- Conor Skehan, in the Sunday Independent today, urges commuters “Instead of fuming about congestion, why not change the choices behind your commute…We are the sum of our choices.Take ownership of your choices”.
- Samantha McCaughren, in her Ergo column, writes about the public consultation process for the masterplan Castlelands in Balbriggan (through Fingal County Council), which recently closed having received “almost 400 largely negative submissions”. I was fortunate to be at the launch of ‘Our Balbriggan’ a month or two ago and there was a genuine sense of hope and expectation of change in the room; however, despite an auspicious launch, the traditional, siloed approach to public consultation and community engagement appears to have damaged trust between the local planners and the local community. Vitally, is a two-way relationship that requires two-way communications (more about this over on www.PLACEengage.com).
- Dolphin Park development plans rejected by Dublin City Council https://www.dublinlive.ie/sport/dolphin-park-development-plans-rejected-16389884.amp
- What can the PLACEengage.com team here in Ireland do to mark Placemaking Week Europe 2019?
https://lamarinalivinglab.com/placemakingweekeurope2019/
*PLACEengage: The future of speedy, successful placemaking for property developers is here – Property developers and project owners ready Public Consultation are encouraged to contact the PLACEengage team for full details*
Other Property News
- Housing commencements rose by over 31% in Q1 https://www.rte.ie/amp/1053758/
- Almost €9 billion worth of mortgages loaned last year https://www.rte.ie/amp/1054082/
- In The Sunday Business Post today: US court finds Dunne’s wife liable for transfer of Shrewsbury Road mansion – The ownership of Ireland’s most expensive house, Walford, is still in dispute after a United States jury found it was the subject of a fraudulent transfer by bankrupt Celtic Tiger developer Sean Dunne (pictured above). This story also gets a feature on page 14 of the Independent that is genuinely more gossip-worthy than newsworthy so I don’t feel the need to relay the details here. Haven’t we moved on from taking pleasure at the downfall of individuals from an era that has now passed (collective responsibility and all that…)?
- In the Sunday Independent today, Michael Cogley reports that that value of State-backed mortgage arrears has fallen by €108 million over the past three years.
- Ailish O’Hora has an interesting piece on page 5 of the business section in the Independent: ‘High living: The answer for city housing or just pie in the sky?’. In reality, it is both. Commentator Mel Reynolds sums it up by explaining: “The only remaining impediment to wide-scale affordable housing is housing policy itself”.
- Also in the Independent, Louise McBride has a feature on the ‘Ten steps to escaping the rental trap so you can own your home’; namely, start saving strategically, move home if necessary, educate yourself on State exemptions and grant initiatives, move county or move country!
- Pat Gallagher, founder and Chairman of Gallagher Group is profiled in the business section of the Independent today.
- In the business section of The Sunday Times today, Niall Brady reports that almost 40 ‘Vulture funds swoop in to be counted: Rush to be regulated follows new law to shield homeowners in arrears’. The new legislation bans unregulated entities from owning Irish mortgages and it has been confirmed at this stage that “all mainstream lenders have either sold to plan to sell mortgages to vulture funds in response to pressure from banking regulators to clean up their loan books”.
- Gavin Daly in the Times reports on the ongoing Johnny Ronan/Salesforce/building heights saga by confirming that the developer has lodged new plans (reapplied?) for four blocks of up to 11 storeys in height. We will keep a watching brief on this… In the property supplement of the same newspaper, assistant professor at UCD, Orla Hegarty, has an insightful opinion piece ‘High-rise: A statement not a solution: Knee-jerk political intervention in the debate over tall buildings is likely to leave Dublin’s citizens counting the cost’.
- Also in the Times, K2 Data Centres has lodged plans for two further data centre buildings at Ballycoolin, 29,000sqm over three storeys for each building.
- Glenveagh announced the acquisition of an 8-acre site on the Killruddery estate in north Wicklow for €9 million. The company expects to build up to 175 homes on the land.
- And here it starts… In The Sunday Business Post today, Killian Woods reports that ‘Developer seeks to rent two-thirds of student digs to non-students’. This refers to the Point Village development – if allowed, this will effectively become the largest co-living development in the State (599 of a total of 966 beds). We can definitely expect to hear more about this in the coming weeks.
- What housing supports are available in Ireland? https://www.rte.ie/amp/1053980/
- The importance of a Will when buying your first home: http://www.victoriahomes.ie/2019/06/07/importance-will-buying-first-home/
- Is Dublin City Council Ready to Enforce New Rules to Rein in Short-Term Lets? https://dublininquirer.com/2019/06/05/is-dublin-city-council-ready-to-enforce-new-rules-to-rein-in-short-term-lets
- New Dublin city apartments will cost €3,700 a month to rent https://amp.breakingnews.ie/ireland/new-dublin-city-apartments-will-cost-3700-a-month-to-rent-929087.html
- Four large Dublin housing developments seek permission under ‘fast-track’ system https://amp.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/four-large-dublin-housing-developments-seek-permission-under-fast-track-system-929529.html
- Women and retirees now being targeted for heavy plant machinery construction jobs – Independent.ie https://amp.independent.ie/business/irish/women-and-retirees-now-being-targeted-for-heavy-plant-machinery-construction-jobs-38174633.html
- Demand more from your estate agent https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/demand-more-from-your-estate-agent-9ln3jvltq
- Sellers: Get Contracts/Title in Order at an Early Stage: https://kinsellaestates.ie/sellers-get-contracts-title-in-order-at-an-early-stage/
- Dublin ranked 14th most congested city on earth… Traffic congestion ranking | TomTom Traffic Index https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/
- TheJournal.ie – Dublin City Council shoots down Johnny Ronan’s bid to increase heights of docklands developments https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-city-council-shoot-down-johnny-ronans-bid-to-increase-heights-of-docklands-developments-4666605-Jun2019/?amp=1
- Dublin site with potential for 1,600 homes goes on the market – Independent.ie https://amp.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/dublin-site-with-potential-for-1600-homes-goes-on-the-market-38182575.html
- McKillen Jr to open restaurant in dockland’s latest luxury block (pictured above) https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/mckillen-jr-to-open-restaurant-in-dockland-s-latest-luxury-block-1.3914447?mode=amp
- Turnover jumps at construction group Sisk – Independent.ie https://amp.independent.ie/business/irish/turnover-jumps-at-construction-group-sisk-38186865.html
- Architects ‘must rethink business models’ says construction tsar https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/architects-must-rethink-business-models-says-construction-tsar/5099871.article
- Irish Construction Industry Awards 2019 shortlist announced https://www.irishtimes.com/sponsored/business-river/irish-construction-industry-awards-2019-shortlist-announced-1.3916823?mode=amp#.XPtncE1TNPk.linkedin
- BAM fined more than £800k for bungled lift https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/bam-fined-more-than-800k-for-bungled-lift
The Agile Agent
Getting Ireland’s Property Marketplace Digital by Default
The Agile Agent is a 12-month digital transformation programme for independent Irish estate agents and auctioneers, which runs from September – August. 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.
Q3. March – May 2019 Agile Agent check-in now available HERE:
To get involved and for free Proptech Prompts, please
Proptech and Construction Innovation
- From smart design and smart planning right through to the smart transaction (and all things smart city!), where does your Irish-led or Ireland-based #proptech business sit? Pease take five minutes to add or update your details/category to our internationally-shared listing here: SIGN UP: PROPTECH INNOVATORS and STARTUPS
- What is an ibuyer service and how will it impact property buyers and sellers? –
”The middle ground between traditional transactions and ibuying transactions here in Ireland might well be the introduction of a ‘buy it now’ feature on online bidding platforms, which could be slightly above or below the AMV, depending upon prevailing market conditions. This would simply make our current ‘smart property transactions’ smarter”
https://prop-tech.ie/this-would-simply-make-our-current-smart-transactions-smarter/
- Trust in us, say online property auctioneers | Ireland | The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/
article/trust-in-us-say- online-property-auctioneers- rcrc3q9fw
- 3Dcamp Dublin & Irish #VR meetup
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/3dcamp-dublin-irish-vr-meetup-tickets-62430137221
- Dermot Bannon And Jennifer Zamparelli Learn Just How Advanced Home Tech Has Become! https://extra.ie/2019/06/08/sponsored/dermot-bannon-jennifer-home-tech/amp
- PropTech startup raises $13M to automate house buying and selling across Europe:
“Kodit.io offers home sellers ‘fair cash offers’ for their properties within 24 hours based on market assessments using machine learning…”
https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/03/proptech-startup-kodit-io-raises-13m-to-automate-house-buying-and-selling/amp/
- Dozey dozer thieves tracked by telematics https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/dozey-dozer-thieves-tracked-by-telematics
- Axel Springer doubles stake in online estate agent Purplebricks https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/axel-springer-doubles-stake-in-online-estate-agent-purplebricks-122816396.html
- From Build Offsite: Do you have an idea or solution that could help University of Birmingham build the next generation ‘smart building’ for one of the most ambitious redevelopments of their campus in a generation? Any proposals that interest the University, could well turn into tangible project opportunities across the Campus development for those taking part. Register for a Dragons Den style pitch straight after our Residential Hub event on the 4th July https://lnkd.in/gtjbh-7
- What comes after Revit? Autodesk aims to reinvent collaborative BIM https://aecmag.com/technology-mainmenu-35/1821-beyond-revit-autodesk-seeks-to-reinvent-collaborative-bim
- Modular Construction 101 https://www.forbes.com/sites/sherikoones/2019/06/03/modular-construction-101/amp/
- Unity Reflect: BIM to real-time 3D in one click for better design decisions – Unity Blog https://blogs.unity3d.com/2019/06/05/unity-reflect-bim-to-real-time-3d-in-one-click-for-better-design-decisions/
- Measuring Up – bid to improve floorplan accuracy and consistency
https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/6/measuring-up–bid-to-improve-floor-plan-accuracy-and-consistency?source=newsticker
- LeapSheep Opens Gate to Opportunities from Property Sector Disruption https://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/375027/leapsheep-opens-gate-to-opportunities-from-property-sector-disruption#.XPoXUiUo-Ec
- Forget San Francisco — these 6 global cities have thriving tech hubs that could make them the next Silicon Valley https://amp.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-around-the-world-tel-aviv-berlin-stockholm-2019-6
- Cloud Cities: Microsoft Wants Its Azure Platform to Become “the” IoT Cloud | Propmodo https://www.propmodo.com/cloud-cities/
- 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
New Facebook Group for Irish Property Buyers & Investors
Crowd-sourcing answers topical property questions:
As many of you might know, my annual property book The Irish Property Buyers’ Handbook (since 2011) was rebranded in 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.
From 2019, the publishers and I want to ensure the content remains topical and we are doing this by crowd-sourcing home buyer and investor queries, with crowd-sourced and editorial team answers. Join the Facebook Group here to contribute: https://www.facebook.com/groups/IrishPropertyBuyers/