Dublin city ‘affordable’ homes in Coolock priced at up to €475,000

Buyers of some of Dublin city’s first “affordable” homes will have to pay up to €475,000 for a three-bed house, almost €170,000 more than when city councillors approved the scheme in late 2021.

The high market value of the houses in a new scheme at Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock, Dublin 17 means purchasers can have incomes exceeding €106,000 and still qualify as eligible for affordable housing subsidies.

Following protracted negotiations and the collapse of agreements over several years, Dublin city councillors signed off on a deal for the redevelopment of 17 hectares of public land near the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel in November 2021.

Under the deal, developer Glenveagh would build 853 homes on the site - 40 per cent for social housing, 40 per cent for cost rental and 20 per cent designed to be sold to low- and middle-income workers qualifying for the affordable purchase scheme.

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State subventions for affordable housing allowed one-bedroom homes to be priced at €204,000 –€ 238,000, two beds from €227,000 - €284,000, and three beds at €250,000 – €306,000.

Glenveagh won the tender the previous year with its prices “fixed at 2020 tendered rates”, according to Dublin City Council.

The first 16 affordable homes in the development, now called Oscar Traynor Woods, will go on sale next month. However, prices are up to 55 per cent higher than indicated, with one beds costing €264,358-€308,750, two beds €355,760-€427,500 and three beds €399,731-€475,000.

Unlike the State’s cost rental scheme, there are no set upper income limits for affordable purchase, with income eligibility related to the market price of the individual house. Buyers can have an income of 85 per cent of a quarter of the cost of any of these houses. This means a prospective purchaser with a gross income of €106,875 would be eligible for the scheme.

Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin described the prices as “eyewatering” and said councillors had been “misled” when agreeing the deal.

[ Dublin ‘affordable’ purchase permutations call purpose of scheme into question ]

“The gap between what was promised and what councillors supported and what is now on offer is even more eyewatering,” he said, adding that nobody could call these prices “affordable”.

Oscar Traynor Woods is the first Dublin city affordable housing scheme to go on sale apart from schemes developed in Ballymun by non-for-profit housing body Ó Cualann, which has been running affordable housing purchase schemes in the suburb since 2017, before the State scheme was introduced.

However, its latest development, which is now on sale, is being operated under the State subsidy scheme in conjunction with the city council, with three-bed end of terrace houses costing eligible buyers a maximum of €304,000 and three-bed mid- terrace houses costing up to €295,450.

“Given that Oscar Traynor Road was public land, why aren’t the prices the same?” asked Mr Ó Broin.

Dublin City Council and Glenveagh have been contacted for comment.

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