Gavel falls on €48m in property sales

Nightclubs, pubs, and office blocks with reserve prices of over €1m each were among 156 properties sold for a total of €48m at the latest Allsop auction.

One of the big-ticket items — SIN nightclub in Temple Bar, Dublin — went for €2.35m. The property came with eight high-specification flats.

Two prime Dublin warehouse investment properties in Dublin Airways Industrial Estate in Santry, which had attracted much of the pre-auction interest, sold for €1.57m each — well above the reserve range of €900,000 — €1m.

In Cork, an office and car park in the prime city centre location of 57, 58, and 59 South Mall went for €1.4m — €100,000 above the reserve price.

Two well-known pubs in Dublin also sold for well above the reserve price. The Grange Inn, in Grangegorman, which also has three apartments, had a reserve range of between €325,000 and €375,000 and sold for €590,000.

Cleary’s Pub, together with adjacent site, in Inchicore, also sold well above its reserve range of between €220,000 and €260,000, with the gavel falling at €500,000.

One-bedroom apartments were going for a snip when compared to the boom. A one-bedroom apartment in Clonmel went for €32,000, while a two-bedroom apartment in Belturbet in Cavan was sold for just €37,500.

At the other end of the scale, three Dublin residential investments in Dartry (€1,900,000), Glasnevin (€1,650,000) and Clontarf (€1,300,000) offering a total of 27 apartments, sold for a combined price of over €4.8m. Director of auctions at Allsop Space Robert Hoban said: “Big premiums were achieved on all of the €1m plus properties leading to a belief that the expiry of the capital gains tax at the end of December this year had a significant impact on sale prices.

“It is encouraging to see such a healthy appetite in both residential and commercial sectors.”

However, rural properties were running at only 25% over reserve prices compared to 40% for city properties.