Near sell-out for Silicon Docks apartment launch

Twelve out of 15 available apartments, with prices starting at €415,000 for a one-bed, were sold over the weekend at the launch of Hanover Lofts, a new development close to Dublin’s tech quarter at Grand Canal Quay. The apartments were mainly sold to owner occupiers living and working in the area, according to the selling agent.

Set on the site of an old print works, Hanover Lofts is the second residential development by The Dublin Loft Company, run by Mark and Andrew Cosgrave, the sons of Peter Cosgrave of Cosgrave Group, after Oxmantown Lofts in Smithfield.

The development, of four one-bed and 11 two-beds, has prices starting at €415,000 for a one-bed, and €575,000 for a two-bed. It was launched last Thursday.

According to David Cantwell, of selling agent Hooke & MacDonald, while 12 of the apartments have now sold, there are a number of interested parties due to come back for the remaining three apartments.

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The speed with which the apartments at the development were sold comes as demand for new homes continues to rise on the back of soaring rents, relaxed mortgage lending rules and the new Help-to-Buy scheme, which offers a tax rebate of as much as 5 per cent of the purchase price for first-time buyers.

Rents in the area have grown steadily in recent years, with the latest Daft report on rents likely to report a further increase when it is published tomorrow. At the nearby Marker residence for example, Ires-Reit is charging as much as €3,315 per month for a two-bed apartment, indicating that a two-bed apartment at the Hanover Lofts scheme could generate yields north of 6 per cent.

However, according to Mr Cantwell, the scheme has attracted interest predominantly from people working in IT and professional offices in the area looking to live close to work.