Apartments ranging in price from £48,000 sterling for a one-bed in Ayr, Scotland, up to £99,500 for a fourbed duplex townhouse in Glasgow are expected to attract the interest of Irish investors when they are launched this week. Hooke & MacDonald is the selling agent for both schemes. The Belfast-based Carville Group is building Buchanan Gardens, a development of 40 apartments opposite the Glasgow Caledonian University. The same developer is also releasing a new phase at Citadel Quay in Ayr, a development that sold mainly to Irish purchasers when the first apartments went on the market last year.
The Buchanan Gardens development comprises 40 apartments in total, all with en suites. There are 36 two-bedroom apartments from 615 sq ft to 654 sq ft, priced from £59,950 to £69,950. Two-bedroom and gallery duplex units from 825 sq ft cost from £84,950, and four-bedroom duplex penthouse apartments measuring 1,100 sq ft are £99,950.
Current rent levels for a two-bedroom apartment in Glasgow range from £600 to £650 per month, according to agents Hooke & MacDonald. The Buchanan Gardens apartments will be available for occupation from October next.
Standard features include gas fired central heating, fitted kitchen which includes hob, oven, extractor hood and washer/dryer. The apartments also have a security intercom system and a basement car park and they are being built around a landscaped courtyard.
Glasgow property values are predicted to show good capital appreciation in the coming years. The Buchanan gardens complex is situated in a central location. Glasgow International Airport is an easy drive from the city.
Citadel Quay in Ayr, 30 miles south of Glasgow, is being built on a waterfront site on the west coast of Scotland. Ayr is famous for its championship golf courses which include Turnberry, Royal Troon and Prestwick.
When the development is completed there will be 151 large one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses in buildings ranging in height from three to seven storeys.
Hooke & MacDonald are releasing 30 of the Citadel Quay apartments for sale off the plans this week in its Dublin and Belfast offices. Prices are from £48,000 sterling for the one-bedroom apartments, from £61,000 for the two-bedroom units and from £87,000 for the three-beds. Some of the apartments face the waterfront, others face into the courtyard. For investors, the estimated one-bedroom rental income is £400 per month, two-bedroom £550 per month and three-bedroom £675 per month. The average yield, according to the selling agents, is nine per cent. Internal layouts at Citadel Quay are comfortable and stylish. Features include an integrated oven, hob and extractor hood in the kitchen, a choice of kitchen units and bathroom colours, mirrored wardrobes, a lift serving all floors, and security intercom to each apartment.
The Ayr Citadel Quay project has already been awarded the prestigious Patrick Geddes award for its exceptional design quality. Stamp duty is currently one per cent on all new or second-hand units over £60,000 and under £250,000 and rates are payable in Scotland.
