The number of auctions were up as agencies competed for market share. Edel Morgan reports
It was a busy year for the auction market in the greater Dublin area with the number of houses going under the hammer increasing by 9.5 per cent on last year.
A total of 1,296 auctions were held in 2005, which is 112 more than was held last year, according to figures compiled by The Irish Times.
The big six agencies - Sherry FitzGerald, Lisney, Gunne Residential, Hamilton Osborne King and Douglas Newman Good - increased their foothold in the market to 77.16 per cent, an increase of over 1 per cent on last year.
Sherry FitzGerald emerged triumphant for the second year running, just inching ahead of Lisney, with 297 auctions, giving it a 22.91 per cent share of the market, a 0.6 per cent increase on last year. If its franchises, Sherry FitzGerald Lewis Beirne and Sherry FitzGerald Blanc, are included, that market share rises to 23.84 per cent.
Sherry FitzGerald handled five of the top 15 most expensive houses this year - tying with Lisney - including the most prestigious sale of the year, Walford on Shrewsbury Road for €58 million, which was sold by tender.
Lisney held 287 auctions, giving them just over a 22 per cent share of the market, a 1.7 per cent improvement on last year.
However, it sold an impressive eight houses in the top 20, including Barrington Tower on Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18, which fetched €36 million at auction.
Douglas Newman Good came third with 202 auctions, giving it a 15.58 per cent share, an increase of over 2 per cent on last year, and DNG was involved in the sale of one of the most expensive houses of the year.
Total HOK Residential auctions amount to 98 and a 7.56 per cent share, keeping it in fourth place on the auction table.
Gunne Residential's 89 auctions this year give the agency a 6.86 per cent share of the market, placing it fifth in the table. Neither HOK Residential nor Gunne Residential handled any of the top 15 most expensive homes this year.
Colliers Jackson-Stops had 27 auctions this year, giving it a 2.08 per cent market share, a decrease of 1.42 per cent on 2004.
However, the agency confirmed its expertise at the top of the residential market.
It handled two sales in the league of top-priced homes, including Santa Maria on Cunningham Road in Dalkey which sold for €10 million after auction.
