Allsop Space, the go-to auctioneer for distressed properties since the bottom fell out of the whole thing, reveals a couple of interesting trends in its 2012 review.
The dominance of the cash buyer is beginning to recede – dramatically. At the first Allsop auction, in April 2011, cash buyers accounted for 85 per cent of sales; in its most recent auction, last December, the figure was 54 per cent.
Overseas buyers are showing interest in the investment market here, where Dublin residential yields on investment properties are coming into line with other EU cities at about 8.7 per cent.
On average 53 per cent of Allsop buyers are investors. There’s been a marked increase in commercial-property sales. These accounted for 26 per cent of Allsop lots in April 2011, but the split was about 50/50 between commercial and residential lots in December.
According to Robert Hoban of Allsop, the prime Dublin residential market is seeing strong demand, with “ prices coming in well above the reserve”. He cites a three-storey Georgian on Northumberland Road, which sold by private treaty for €550,000 in early 2012, and then made €685,000 at auction with Allsop in September.
What these figures all add up to is hard to say – as every auction attracts different lots and buyers – but the trends certainly reflect an evolving and growing market.
