NewHomes: Tax incentive schemes sold welllast weekend, as investors mopped up Section 23 properties before end-of-year returns. First-time buyers were also out in numbers, chasing good value developments within easy reach of the city. Apartments from €280,000 to €340,000 within a few miles of the city centre fly out the door when they make a rare appearance.
Clare Village in D17, where HOK sold over 190 apartments in two weeks, is evidence of this. Sales were strong at Tallaght Cross, a Section 23 development with M&S as the retail anchor tenant, where Hooke & MacDonald sold 140 apartments over the weekend and were pleased with over 50 sales at Mayestown Hall, Finglas.
Gunne New Homes sold 12 apartments out of 16 at Grand Canal Court in Rialto. In Inchicore, where Gunne was offering Section 23 apartments at Tyrconnell Place, 29 apartments and duplexes were sold. The sense of panic has gone, says Owen Reilly of Gunne, adding that the effect of interest rate hikes and uncertainty over the coming budget has slowed the pace to a "more realistic level". Sherry FitzGerald New Homes has sold 120 units so far at The Coast in Baldoyle and sales are continuing to trickle in despite market insecurity.
Sales were also consistent in developments close to motorways or a train station. That's according to Will Coonan of Coonan Real Estate Alliance, who sold 10 apartments from €334,000 at Hazelhatch Park, near the station at Celbridge, Co Kildare. Sales are also steady at Straffan Way, off the N7, where over a third of the 20 houses from €525,000 are booked.
