Good morning, as expected, the broadsheets are dominated with post election analysis and are collectively light on industry news.
If you missed last week’s Sunday Property Round-Up, which was packed with industry and proptech news, you can catch up here:
Sunday Property Round-up, October 21st 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
The Five Cheapest Shipping Container Homes Ever Built – Discover Containers – Your Hub for Shipping Container Building Information https://www.discovercontainers.com/the-cheapest-5-shipping-container-homes-ever-built/
Agile Agent: 12-month digital transformation programme for independent estate agents and auctioneers across Ireland
Getting Ireland’s property marketplace digital by default
We were delighted to have Dr. David Duffy of Property Industry Ireland present to our Agile Agents and a number of invited agents this week. In addition to industry insights, we had demos from a selection of proptech providers offering emerging technologies for estate agents focused on digitising business operations, putting the consumer first and marketing for properties in the digital age. Also, huge thanks to Samantha McCaughren, business editor of the Sunday Independent for delivering a master class for proptech startups on crafting their business message.
As we could only take one estate agency from each geographical area (in order to avoid any competitive conflict), we are sharing free monthly ‘Proptech Prompts’ for non-participating agents so that they can participate with their own in-house digital transformation (sign up below).
To get involved and for free monthly Proptech Prompts, please
Other Property News
- The lead business story in the Sunday Independent is that Richard Barrett’s Bartra Capital Property Group is planning a €600 million residential development “spree” over the next few years. This includes student accommodation, co-living and nursing homes.
- Victoria Homes doubles number of homes planned for Carrickmines site to 1,500 –
Extended plan represents largest residential development undertaken since recession
- Landlords will need planning permission to use Airbnb under new letting rules https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/landlords-will-need-planning-permission-to-use-airbnb-under-new-letting-rules-1.3674748?mode=amp
- I am reminded of the old adage ‘The people who say that it cannot be done, need to get out of the way of the people doing it’ with this interesting article by Jack Horgan-Jones The Sunday Business Post today. Apparently a number of the larger landlords in the State including Ires REIT, Glenveagh and Cairn Homes are coming together to form a new lobby group – Irish Institutional Property – to “fight the perception that they are vulture funds”. This is just the latest move of an industry that has been vilified to take back their reputations. The populist rhetoric against property developers and home builders in this country has hindered the delivery of much-needed new homes. Never before have the interest of homebuilders and home buyers been so aligned. This will not be a popular move but it is one that I see being positive for the market.
- Also, in the SBP, Sanctus BMS (Ireland), an alternative property financial company is apparently planning to lend €50 million across Ireland over the next 12 months. Again, another welcome development. Increased competition in this space is welcome, given the excessively high prevailing interest rates available right now.
- There is a worrying article in the SBP today claiming that new ‘homeless family hubs’ (?) that are due to be built by the Housing Agency will be in breach of current building regulations by allowing a lower standard of insulation (u-value). This seems nonsensical so I will wait to see the Agency’s response to get a full picture.
- There is plenty of coverage about the schools safety issue across all of the broadsheets today – this is a particularly alarming and damaging situation that highlights deep failures in the current construction process, many of which have not yet been addressed. At the moment, the focus needs to be on getting these schools up to a safe standard, then the industry – together with the State – will need to reflect on how to ensure this absolutely never happens again. Wayne O’Connor’s article on page 10 of the Sunday Independent is probably the shortest but most relevant.
- The Sunday Times property section has a feature on living in Drogheda, one of the most forgotten commuter large towns. Development of new homes in the area is yet to ramp up to the level seen in Kildare, Meath and North Wexford (Gorey).
- Ronald Quinlan, writing the Independent reports that ‘city planners seeking further clarity from Goodman family on €100 million Senanta Centre’.
- Also in the Independent today, Conor Skehan writes that ‘Every part of rural Ireland has its own place in planning a future of prosperity’. The man many credit as the architect of the Wild Atlantic Way points out that “there are at least six rural Irelands, each of which needs a separate plan”, referring to Atlantic Ireland, Western Ireland, North Midlands, South Midlands, the South East and the East.
- I ought to mention that all of the papers today cover the ongoing Airbnb saga, I am simply to bored to repeat the same story here week and week.
- Is Dublin’s property market heading for a soft landing? https://amp.ft.com/content/831d436a-d2b8-11e8-9a3c-5d5eac8f1ab4
- Buyer sought for Dublin Landings apartments https://amp.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/buyer-sought-for-dublin-landings-apartments-37451374.html
- Central Bank proposals would allow credit unions ‘to offer home loans in a meaningful way’https://amp.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/central-bank-proposals-would-allow-credit-unions-to-offer-home-loans-in-a-meaningful-way-37453485.html
- Rule changes set to allow credit unions to issue more mortgages https://amp.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/rule-changes-set-to-allow-credit-unions-to-issue-more-mortgages-37456405.html
- Construction Safety Week was officially launched for Walls Construction this morning by @CIF_Ireland Tom Parlon and Dermot Carey on their Park Developments project in Dundrum. #safetyweek
- Construction workers warned about exposure to hazardous substances https://amp.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/construction-workers-warned-about-exposure-to-hazardous-substances-881030.html
- Property tax exemption on nearly 17,000 homes costs State €35mhttps://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/property-tax-exemption-on-nearly-17-000-homes-costs-state-35m-1.3670852?mode=amp
- Government lays out timeline for Cork city’s expansion https://www.eveningecho.ie/corknews/Government-lays-out-timeline-for-Cork-citys-expansion-5ff06c22-8762-43f3-851b
- Cork eyes Kildare Village-style outlet | Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cork-eyes-kildare-village-style-outlet-878699.html
- Landlords face Airbnb ban from June as new rules are introduced | JOE.iehttps://www.joe.ie/amp/news/landlords-face-new-airbnb-ban-from-next-june-as-new-rules-are-introduced-645588
- Kellogg’s to relocate European HQ to Dublin Airport Central https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/kellogg-to-relocate-european-hq-to-dublin-airport-central-1.3610074?mode=amp
- BREAKING: Planning permission granted to JP McManus-backed Limerick rugby museumhttps://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/344161/breaking-planning-permission-granted-to-jp-mcmanus-backed-limerick-rugby-museum.html
- Building up to Selfbuild in Millstreet https://amp.independent.ie/regionals/corkman/news/building-up-to-selfbuild-in-millstreet-37455242.html
- Central Hotel on sale for €40m with expansion plans for 112 bedrooms https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/central-hotel-on-sale-for-40m-with-expansion-plans-for-112-bedrooms-1.3672950
- Cushman & Wakefield: Robust investment activity continued in the third quarter, with transactions for the year to date reaching €2.1bn. The office sector is one of the key stories of 2018 so far, accounting for over 50% of capital inflow, or approximately €1.1bn.
- Aran Island residents win award for pioneering programme on sustainable energy https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/aran-island-residents-win-award-for-pioneering-programme-on-sustainable-energy-1.3676024?mode=amp
- Sherry FitzGerald owners share €1m payout https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/sherry-fitzgerald-owners-share-1m-payout-1.3675913?mode=amp
- Grosvenor’s £1bn build-to-rent plan could fail affordable housing testhttps://amp.theguardian.com/money/2018/oct/26/grosvenor-1bn-bermondsey-build-to-rent-project-in-jeopardy-duke-of-westminster-property-group
- Chase Tower, Arizona’s tallest skyscraper, sells for $107.5 million https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/1775314002
- WeWork’s Pitch To Parliament – Its Shared Workspaces Are Boosting London’s Economy https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorclawson/2018/10/25/weworks-pitch-to-parliament-its-shared-workspaces-are-boosting-londons-economy/amp/
Proptech and Construction Innovation
- 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 .
- Gavin Gallagher, founder of Proptech.TV compiled a global list of the top 10 Proptech influencers to follow – I was genuinely delighted to be included amongst some serious UK and US heavy-hitters: WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/Xwuccn7wrkE
- Expert urges industry to get ahead with proptech https://www.showhouse.co.uk/blog/expert-urges-industry-to-get-ahead-with-prop-tech/
- Can co-living market become a new revenue stream for agents? https://www.inman.com/2018/10/17/can-the-co-living-market-become-a-new-revenue-stream-for-agents/amp/
- Why More Real Estate Companies Are Becoming Venture Investors In Tech Startups
- Via Paul McCarty Snapfix: Smart-Home Devices to Make Your Holidays Easier https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/smarter-living/wirecutter/smart-home-devices-holiday-tasks.html
- Savills UK | Commercial Property: Why proptech is relevant to real estate investors https://www.savills.co.uk/blog/article/267504/commercial-property/why-proptech-is-relevant-to-real-estate-investors.aspx
- S. landlords copy hotel model to cut risk as coworking surges https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1MT2O4
Crowd-sourcing: New Facebook Group for Irish Property Buyers & Investors
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.
For the first time, the 2019 edits will be crowd-sourced and will include 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/