AroundtheBlock

Liam Lawlor Liam Lawlor's untimely death in Moscow leaves a void in the property industry where he was one of the most astute…

Liam LawlorLiam Lawlor's untimely death in Moscow leaves a void in the property industry where he was one of the most astute players in Eastern Europe.

He had a long-standing and thriving consultancy business, mainly in the commercial property market that, if anything, grew even faster after his political downfall.

Long before Eastern European cities became meccas for Irish property developers and investors, Lawlor was ahead of the pack, identifying sites and investment opportunities in Budapest and Prague as far back as the late 1980s. Having built up a contact book second to none, he advised a string of Irish multi-millionaires on where to put their money in the emerging east.

Acknowledged as one of the best informed scouts in the business, he brokered many property deals and was in constant demand by the private plane brigade, who were happy to pay handsome fees for the right information. Though his main interest was in development sites, he was just as adept at bringing people together if there was a deal of any kind in the air.

READ MORE

Buying Big Abroad

Colliers Jackson-Stops appears to be selling almost more property abroad than at home. So far this year its clients have spent €17 million with them on overseas homes, from Las Vegas to Thailand and including France, Spain and Portugal where the agency has notched up €10 million in sales. According to Eleanor Bourke of Colliers Jackson-Stops overseas department, a lack of investment opportunities at home is driving this spree by Irish investors which shows no sign of slowing.

Punters For Racecourse

Just when overnight queues seemed a thing of the past, Sherry FitzGerald New Homes had one last Friday when a long line of buyers formed outside its Donnybrook office 24 hours before first homes on the old Baldoyle racecourse site were due to go on sale. Rather than allowing the poor sods to queue overnight, the agency took deposits on Friday at 6.30pm and reopened at 8am the following morning when there was a fresh stampede.

All 150 apartments, which started from €260,000, and houses in the first phase were sold within hours, with virtually all going to young first-timers. Menolly is to build around 2,200 homes on the old racecourse with the next phase due to be released early in the new year.

Lisney in new homes

With so much action in new homes, it was only a matter of time before blue blood firm Lisney opened a new homes division. They've done just that by recruiting Tony Campbell this week as their first new homes MD.

Campbell, a veteran of the new homes and apartments market, has advised successful players, including Michael Murphy's South Dublin Construction, Duncan Moore's Castlepark, Eugene Renehan's Walthill, and George Butler's Butler Construction. Agencies specialising in new homes are under pressure to source sites for house-builder clients, before being sure of selling the subsequent units.

It will be interesting to see if Lisney can pull the sale of a new scheme out of large south Dublin sites it's off-loaded. Last week it got over €20m for three back gardens in Foxrock which, if the planners oblige, will be smothered in apartments. No better man than Tony to shift them. He'll be assisted by Kathy Flanigan who is joining him in Lisney New Homes on Upper Merrion Street.