AroundtheBlock

Fingers crossed for AdamstownEveryone will be keeping a close eye on today's launch of the latest phase of Adamstown - the new town being developed in west Dublin that's going to have its own town centre and train station.

It's the first major launch of the new year, and agents Gunne will be hoping to replicate their success this time last year when they had a sell-out launch with full media fanfare including rants on Joe Duffy. The scheme continued to sell throughout the year with over 500 units sold, and over 150 of these buyers are already living there. This phase sees prices at roughly the same level as last year, though some units will be marginally smaller than in the first phase. One-beds start at €280,000 while two-beds begin at €300,000.

Castlethorn, the initial developers here, has undertaken to provide a range of services, including a brand new station and a school, due to open this September, shops, restaurants, the lot. This is clearly going to appeal to young families and the marketing campaign has been very much pitched in their direction. Rival developers and agents will be anxiously watching the prices and the level of sales before embarking on their own selling campaigns in the next few weeks. The fact that price levels have already been set in most major schemes across the city means that the developers will be reluctant to trim them back in the interest of achieving higher sales because of the furore it would cause - and possible cancellations among buyers from earlier phases. Look out for lots of extras being offered, like timber floors, appliances, carpets and all sorts of vouchers. Househunters may yet have a lot of fun and satisfaction.

Shrewsbury saga starts

On an entirely different planet, the first shots have been fired in what could be another long drawn out planning battle on Shrewsbury Road in Ballsbridge. So far, four objectors, led by resident Stephen MacKenzie, have moved to block plans to demolish Walford, the famous pile that was sold two years ago for €58 million. The mystery buyer wants to flatten the dour redbrick and replace it with three knockout houses which would be expected to fetch astronomical prices in the fullness of time. David McCann of banana fame joins the objectors along with Nichola MacKenzie. A fourth objection by Marion Dempsey was declared invalid. The planning application has been made in the name of Matsack Nominees Ltd, whoever they are. No doubt all will be revealed if it comes to selling the mansions.

Farmers milk property

Farmers have been having a hard time of it in recent years so it's good to hear that at least some of them have a few bob to invest beyond the milking parlour. Results of a survey carried out by property consultants Farrelly & Mitchell show that nearly 60 per cent of the 200 farmers surveyed are intending to invest off-farm within the coming year. More than half of those are planning to invest €100,000, while just 17 per cent are inclined to spend the same sort of money on the farm.

So where are all those millions going to go? Where else but into property. The most popular investment category with farmers it seems is commercial property syndicates (41 per cent), though 27 per cent said they would be looking towards overseas property investments. The survey was carried out at a series of seminars held by Farrelly & Mitchell who last year put together a syndicate of farmers to invest in a golf course in Florida. Their clients are mainly 30-to-50 year olds with between 100 and 200 acres, and milk quotas of between 50,000 to 100,000 gallons.

Soccer legends

It's a sign of how low Irish soccer has sunk that a trio of English and Scottish football legends are being drafted in to add glamour to an Irish overseas property launch. Peter Beardsley, Tom Boyd and Kenny Sansom are joining Jeff Stelling of Sky Sports at the Radisson, Stillorgan this evening to endorse The Village at Valle Romano, on Spain's Costa del Sol. Eight top soccer teams will be using the golf resort for warm weather training, say Simple Overseas Property, who will host the launch. While not booked for the Irish launch, Sunderland manager Roy Keane and his team will use Valle Romano for training, along with Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Celtic, Everton, Leeds, Newcastle and West Ham. The Cork launch is next Sunday at the Kingsley Hotel, featuring Kelly Dalglish of Sky Sports. No Roy?