A LARGE period house on Ailesbury Road and a smaller redbrick on one of the most sought-after roads on Dublin’s northside were the two biggest sellers at the second Allsop/Space distressed property auction which took place in the Shelbourne Hotel yesterday.
Houses on Ailesbury Road typically changed hands for more than €10 million at the height of the property boom, so a ripple of excitement went through the packed hotel ballroom when its time came up for sale, with a maximum reserve of €1.4 million.
“Lot 20, we’ve finally got here, ladies and gentlemen. It is the one you have all been waiting for,” said Gary Murphy, the Allsop auctioneer, as he started the bidding at €1.3 million.
Within seven minutes, the house was gone, with the winning bid of €2.325 million being delivered by telephone. There was a feeling in the room that the mystery bidder had snagged themselves a bargain despite the high price paid for a property requiring extensive renovation.
While it may have been the most expensive lot to go under the hammer yesterday, a house on Glasnevin’s Iona Road with a reserve of €360,000 attracted an equally high, if not greater, level of interest. It was eventually sold for €710,000 after fierce competition between more than a dozen bidders.
All but five of the 87 properties on the market at the auction were sold, with the majority going for substantially more than their reserve prices.
Despite the high level of sales, the auction was distinctly more low-key than the first “fire sale” by property agents Allsop and Space in the same venue in April. At that auction, the crowds spilled on to the street in front of the hotel and television cameras from the world’s media jostled for position in the hall.
At the busiest point yesterday, there were more than 800 people in the room, and more than 50 telephone bidders, including callers from Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, France and London. It was a strong indication of overseas interest in the Irish property market at the right price.
During the early part of the day, the most active bidder was just five years old. Sitting on his father’s shoulders, the boy, wearing an Irish football jersey, tried to bid on every property that came up. He gesticulated wildly in an effort to attract the attention of Mr Murphy, but his bidding plan was thwarted when his father realised what he was up to and dragged him from the room faster than you could say “going once, going twice, gone”.
There was another moment of levity in the afternoon when an intense bidding war erupted over a pub in Portumna. Connolly’s had a maximum reserve of just €50,000 but quickly went over €200,000. Towards the end of the bidding war, which was getting a little fractious, Mr Murphy cautioned one potential buyer that, in his impatience, he had actually started bidding against himself. He had increased his own bid of €260,000 by €10,000. “I want a bit of respect out of you, Gary,” the bidder said, striding up the hall before being mollified somewhat by his win.
A large terraced house on Villiers Road, Rathgar, Dublin, and a four-bedroom bungalow on almost an acre in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains were among the other highlights at the auction.
The Rathgar house, which has been divided into five self-contained flats, sold for €450,000, €45,000 below the advertised maximum reserve. It would have commanded a price of close to €2 million at the height of the boom.
A house on Kilternan’s Ballycorus Road that would have sold for well over €1 million in 2006 went for €567,500. It had a reserve price of €450,000.
A pub in Waterford city centre with a reserve of €185,000 sold for €232,500, while a large detached house on the outskirts of Kilkenny with a maximum reserve of €410,000 sold for €440,000.
Gerard Maloney and his partner Mathieu Leguet were delighted to have secured for themselves a two-bedroom apartment in Glasnevin for €55,000, the reserve price. “It was my first ever auction and to put it mildly I was very nervous,” Mr Maloney said.
“It was the only property we had any interest in and we were sure it would go for substantially more than €55,000 so we are absolutely thrilled,” he continued.
Stephen McCarthy of Space said: “Like April, there were many buyers who secured properties at unprecedented prices.” He claimed that the result “firmly establishes that there is a market for property at the right price. We remained quietly confident about the success of this auction as Irish and international bidders are looking for real value – our approach brings real value to market.”
Just over €16 million was realised in yesterday’s sale, nearly €1 million more than the first sale in April. A further Allsop/Space distressed property auction takes place in Dublin in September.
Going . . . going . . . gone: Houses under hammer as 82 properties sell at auction
249 Upper Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
* Maximum reserve:€ 275,000
* Selling price:€ 280,000
There was a degree of surprise that this five-bedroom house did not command a higher final selling price, given both its location and size. At the height at the boom industry experts said properties like this would have commanded a price of about € 800,000.
35 Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4
* Maximum reserve:€ 1.45m
* S elling price:€2.325m
This was undoubtedly the trophy house up for grabs yesterday, and the house that commanded the highest price by a substantial margin.
While €2.325 million may sound like a lot, the house next door sold for about €7.75m just four years ago.
32 Villiers Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6
Maximum reserve:€ 495,000
Selling price:€ 450,000
This 1,800sq ft house on one of the leafiest roads in Dublin 6 would have commanded a price of close to € 2 million at the height of the boom, so the sellers will have been disappointed it failed to make the advised maximum reserve
62 Haddington Road, Dublin 4
Maximum reserve:€395,000
Selling price:€635,000
This two-storey over basement house is located just off Baggot Street and is currently split into two self-contained residential units.
A house on this road would have cost any prospective buyer more than € 2 million at the height of the boom.
48 Iona Road, Glasnevin Dublin 9
Maximum reserve:€360,000
Selling price:€710,000
Iona Road is undoubtedly one of the most sought after roads on Dublin’s north side, and there was some degree of surprise in the Shelbourne yesterday that the reserve had been set so low. This was warranted, given the final price.
