PROPERTY OWNERS and auctioneers alike may well choke on their porridge this morning when they see that house prices have dropped even further overnight.
The news comes with the publication of the catalogue of Ireland’s first sale of distressed property to be held by British auctioneer Allsops, which specialises in selling properties held by banks, receivers and homeowners needing to sell quickly.
The cheapest property being put on the block is a two-bedroom tenanted apartment in Portlaoise with a top reserve of €35,000. A similar apartment in the same development, Bridle Walk, is listed for sale elsewhere at €170,000.
In Rathfarnham, a two-bedroom penthouse has a maximum reserve of €145,000 in the Allsops auction. A two-bedroom ground-floor unit in the same scheme is listed on myhome.ie for €275,000.
More than 80 properties in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway will be offered at the auction in the Shelbourne Hotel on April 15th, which is being organised by Dublin estate agent Stephen McCarthy of Space, in alliance with Allsop, one of the largest auction houses in Britain.
Details will be available from both companies’ websites tomorrow morning.
Each property carries a maximum reserve price. However, according to McCarthy, the actual reserve prices may well be less on the day, depending on demand. However, the reserve set nearer or on the day will not exceed the published maximum reserves.
Details of properties seen by The Irish Timesshow these maximum reserves are well below current asking prices for similar homes.
A detached four-bedroom house on a large site in Churchtown, close to Milltown Golf Course, has a maximum reserve of €400,000 – less than three-bedroom homes are making nearby.
A large mews house on a laneway in Ballsbridge has a maximum reserve of €600,000. While there is no similar home for sale nearby, refurbished homes of a similar size in the neighbourhood have been trading around the €1 million mark.
In Temple Bar, a studio apartment on Essex Street has a maximum reserve of €80,000, a price likely to strike fear into the heart of investors with property in the area where slightly larger units trade for upwards of €140,000.
The prices are likely to shock estate agents trying to shift property in a dormant market. However, Mr McCarthy said the auction would benefit the property trade by establishing a floor from which people could build.