Cairn Homes has secured in the region of €131 million from the sale of 316 new homes it has developed in Co Wicklow, to approved housing body (AHB) Tuath Housing and to the Land Development Agency (LDA).
In the first instance the publicly-listed housebuilder completed the sale shortly before Christmas of 174 apartments at its Hawkins Wood scheme in Greystones to Tuath for an overall consideration of €71 million. Numbers 1-84 Aldborough Hall and numbers 1-90 Aldborough Manor were sold in two tranches in November and December, according to the Property Price Register for sums of €34,025,000 and €36,980,000 respectively. The price paid equates to an average of €408,074 per unit for each of the 174 apartments.
Commenting on the completion of the two transactions, a spokeswoman for Tuath said: “Tuath worked collaboratively with Wicklow County Council, the Department of Housing Local Government & Heritage, and the Housing Finance Agency, to provide 174 high-quality new-build homes (1,2 and 3 beds) in Greystones. The development showcases public, private, voluntary partnership, resulting in the creation of a mixed-tenure community, which has enabled Tuath to provide much-needed homes at permanently affordable rents to individuals and families unable to afford to buy or rent in the private market.”
The Land Development Agency, meanwhile, is understood to have paid about €60 million – or an average of €422,535 per unit – to secure ownership of 142 new homes it recently acquired from Cairn Homes at Archers Wood, the development immediately adjacent to the housebuilder’s Hawkins Wood scheme.
The LDA launched its first cost-rental scheme last November by offering 48 of the A-rated units to the market with rents starting at €1,455 per month for two-bedroom apartments and rising to €1,550 for three-bedroom duplexes. A lottery system was used to select successful applicants from the 150 applications received by the agency.
The LDA is to run another lottery this month to select tenants for the remaining 94 homes at Archers Wood. All of these units are one-bedroom apartments and rents are expected to start at a lower rate.
In order to be eligible for a cost-rental home those applying must have a net household income of less than €53,000 per annum and not be in receipt of any social housing supports such as rent supplement or a housing assistance payment (HAP). Those who own a property already are precluded from applying for the scheme, while successful applicants must be able to afford to pay the cost rent set down by the LDA.
Commenting on his company’s ambitions for the year to come, and for the social and affordable housing market specifically, Cairn Homes CEO Michael Stanley said: “Cairn is proud to have become the first company in Ireland to deliver over 1,500 new homes in a calendar year. This included a broad mix of first-time buyer houses and duplexes, houses and apartments for second-time buyers, and apartments for the private and affordable rental markets. Our completions last year also included 495 new social and affordable homes delivered across our larger developments nationwide. We expect to significantly grow this output in 2023 and to continue to provide value and timely delivery for our partners in local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency.”
