Expectations that next month's Budget might bring some relaxation of the Bacon measures against residential investors would seem to be wide of the mark. Like any vested interest group, the auctioneers will be pressing for some changes to encourage investors back into the market. Lest Charlie McCreevy didn't know, the private investors are alive and well and buying in Dublin 2. Last weekend, they bought more than 50 of the 70 apartments at the grand sounding College Gate, a new scheme in a once humble location, Tara Street. And though the block is located over the Countess Markievicz pool, the speculators weren't banking on free bathing facilities. They were merely availing of the section 23 tax shelter for their extensive property portfolios. They paid through the nose for their city centre pads beside Trinity College. Prices averaged out at around £305 per sq ft, one of the highest costs for apartments in the city centre. Interestingly, some of the buyers at College Gate had dropped their options to buy yet-to-be-built apartments in the Docklands, for the preferable southside location.

For those who missed out on the Treasury Holdings scheme at Tara Street, they will have another chance to save some tax when David Arnold's new apartment scheme on the opposite side of the road comes on the market before Christmas. With investors obviously not scared off by the Bacon penalties, it seems unlikely that the Minister for Finance will be rushing to their aid in the Budget. In fact, he may be announcing even tougher measures against private investors. One report suggests that the Government is poised to increase capital gains tax (CGT) from 20 to 30 per cent. The ever increasing number of professionals playing the commercial property market may also be hit by any increase in CGT. Those most concerned may decide to cash in their chips before the Budget, which could keep the market buoyant for the next month or so.