Property

Early-season property sales suggest there’s life in the auction model yet

Auction rooms see buoyant house prices in Sandymount, Clontarf and Castleknock

169 Strand Road: the period 276sq m (2,970sq ft) property on Sandymount seafront in Dublin sold for €1.55 million

Thu Apr 11 2019 - 06:00

With the market off to its spring start and properties aplenty coming on stream, particularly at the higher end, it’s interesting to see a few brave souls plumping for the auction sale.

In days of yore – circa 2007 – you were nobody if your residence hadn’t been hammered down in a packed auction room. We all know what happened next, but a few recent sales would indicate there’s life in the auction model yet – and not just as part of a BidX1 clearance.

In the middle of last month Peter Kenny of Knight Frank took to the rostrum with 169 Strand Road, a period 276sq m (2,970sq ft) property on Sandymount seafront in Dublin in need of a major refurb and with an advised minimum value of €1.25 million. There was plenty of interest in the auction room on the day, and the property sold for €1.55 million, 24 per cent above the AMV. Buoyed by this success, Kenny plans another big auction in Sandymount, on Park Avenue, next month. It might be one for Dublin 4 downsizers to watch.

Towards the end of March another interesting sale was that of 151 Castle Avenue in Clontarf, a modest three-bed cottage standing on a sizeable 0.1ha (0.25ac) across the bay in north Dublin. It went on with Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €1.2 million and sold to the highest of three bidders for €1.4 million. The site's development potential is likely to have driven much of the interest.

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Speaking of potential, the unusually named Astagob in Porterstown, in Castleknock in west Dublin, was an interesting play when it came up in late February. There was barely a reference in the promotional bumf to the 1870 farmhouse on 1ha (2.4ac) that was actually for sale. Instead all the focus went on the secured planning permission for an architect-designed mansion extending to 660sq m (7,134sq ft). The property went on at €1.1 million, with Coonan Property, and sold for €1.2 million. Not bad considering that’s before the real work even begins.

And it's not just the €1 million-plus players who are getting in on the action. This week saw Daphne Kaye (out on her own again after a brief dalliance with Sherry Fitz) taking to the auction room with an art-deco two-bed on the beachfront in Bray, Co Wicklow. It went on with an AMV of €575,000 and sold under the hammer for €650,000.

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