Though property prices may rise and fall, location will never go out of fashion it seems. The first phase of the receiver sale of luxury apartments at the former British Embassy in Dublin 4 have sold out in just two months netting €14 million.
Nineteen apartments at 31-33 Merrion Road built in 2000 by Capel Developments, and ranging in price from €615,000 to €985,000, have sold – mainly to Irish buyers.
According to Savills selling agent David Browne, 90 per cent of the buyers were Irish, many earning sterling and seeing value in the properties, which cost about €650 per square foot compared with London prices of between €1,537 and €1,476 (£1100-£1200) psf.
“For apartments of this calibre we would expect to get calls from overseas but they generally don’t materialise into viewers. This development attracted viewers from London, Monaco, Hong Kong, Singapore and as far away as Sydney,” he said.
The international shoppers journeyed in vain. They were outbid by the Irish buyers, who paid mainly cash. Many of them were late-fortysomething investors who plan to lease them for the next 10 years or so.
Whether the apartments attracted big name buyers on a par with the exclusive Four Seasons scheme across the road is not apparent. Though it's understood buyers include some established Irish families who have retained their money through the bad times. "What struck us was the amount of wealth in Ireland, " he added.
