WHEN PETER Kenny of Colliers opted to auction a modest house in Dalkey rather than sell it by private treaty, he knew there was a risk that no-one would show up to the auction given the uncertain state of the market.
In fact, he had a full room yesterday for the sale of Doonecoy, a detached 1940s house on the corner of Castlepark Road and Hyde Park with an AMV of €675,000.
The only trouble was that nobody bid. In his own words he “waffled on” for 15 minutes about the great opportunity awaiting buyers of the 145sq m (1,562sq ft) house but to no avail. The room was completely silent.
He finally withdrew it, and suddenly there were two people who wanted to buy it.
A deal was swiftly done with one of the parties and the house was sold.
Since the price was agreed after the auction and not under the hammer, the price cannot be revealed, since the information is covered under the Data Protection Act, a situation that is adding to the overall distrust in the market.
Quite simply, nobody can say what a house is now worth, unless it is sold under the hammer in the public domain. After yesterday Kenny says he’s unlikely to conduct another auction for quite some time!
We can tell you the prices made by two houses sold under the hammer by a very happy Eamon O’Flaherty of Property Partners Brady in Maynooth. A derelict four-room cottage at Enfield Road, Kilcock, made €272,000 – €20,000 over the AMV – at his first auction of 2009 last week; another cottage needing complete refurbishment at Green Lane, Leixlip, sold for €263,000.
