Property Focus: The lure of Limerick brings locals home
The Covid pandemic has brought a flood of returning Shannonsiders home to Limerick City.
“When we came out of the first lockdown last year, there was a huge increase in people wanting to relocate to limerick — nearly every third caller was from someone who wanted to move back,’’ says Lisa Kearney, of Rooney Auctioneers, adding that most were from Dublin but others came from the US and the UK.
She says that last year was extremely busy due to high local demand as well as an influx of buyers, which included some coming to work in new companies.
“The biggest demand was in the €250,000 to €400,000 category,’’ she says, noting that the priorities for buyers was finding home office space and extra garden space.
Ailbhe O’Malley, of Sherry FitzGerald Limerick, reports a similar increase in returning locals, including many moving from Dublin to work from home in house types that they wouldn’t have been able to afford in the capital.
She says that, as a result of the influx of relocators, bidding wars ensued and prices were pushed upwards.
“A four-bed semi at 22 Rahue, Church Meadows, with a guide of €275,000 sold for €315,000 and, more recently, a semi-detached house on the North Circular Road with a guide of €325,000 went sale agreed for in excess of €400,000," she says.Â
Declan Barry, of O’Connor Murphy Auctioneers, says that, as a consequence of increased demand at time when property supply has fallen to a record low, prices are set to rise by at least 5% this year.
He says the release of many new developments in the city have been delayed in lockdown and that very few second-hand properties are coming on the market now:
"There’s a huge demand for new houses. We now have a list of over 100 interested buyers in Slà Na Manach development at Mungret, where an 11-house phase has been held up."
The pent-up demand set to be released at the end of lockdown will be some way met by the listing of second-hand properties that vendors have been waiting to put on the market.
Also, when restrictions ease, many of the new developments that have been put on hold in recent months can finally be released.
Among the several new developments set for release once construction resumes are Ros MĂłr on the Ballyneety Road and Kylemore on Schoolhouse Road in Castletroy, which are being sold by Rooney Auctioneers.
At Castlebrook Manor in Castletroy, Sherry FitzGerald Limerick has one remaining four-bed detached house for €395,000, but it plans a summer release for the next phase of 51 houses, which includes three- and four-bed semis.
At Mungret Gate, Sherry FitzGerald Limerick has one last three-bed terrace house for €284,000 as well as one three-bed semi for €307,500 and will be releasing another phase in the summer.
GVM Auctioneers expects to release the first phase of a new development at Knockhill on the Ennis Road within a few months. A 90-unit development, this will include detached and semi-detached houses, as well as townhouses, duplexes and apartments.
GVM auctioneer Paul Cross says he also has plans to release the next 25 houses in the Newtown Manor development in Castletroy within the coming months.
Stylish, spacious, and A-rated, No 194 Kylemore, School House Road, Castletroy, is the type of property that buyers relocating from Dublin will be tempted to snap up.
Guiding at €369,000, it’s a five-year-old four-bed semi (attached at the rear) with more than 1,500 sq ft of living space. Buyers coming from the capital will most likely be astonished at what they can get for this price in Limerick.
Sherry FitzGerald’s Ailbhe O’Malley says the property is impressively finished and tastefully decorated and its location off School House Road is highly sought after.
The interior has been decorated in neutral shades and the contemporary kitchen with polished floor tiles and stylish grey units is all a buyer could wish for. There’s additional space available for conversion in the floored attic.
Likely to go quickly once viewings resume.
Affordably priced at €305,000, No 50 Ard Aulin in Mungret is a four-bed semi with over 1,460 sq ft of accommodation and plenty of space to work from home.
New to the market, it’s listed with Rooney auctioneers who say the 2005-built property is bright, modern, and in turn-key condition.Â
“The location is excellent — within easy reach of Crescent Shopping Centre, Raheen Business Park, University Hospital Limerick, local primary and secondary schools, shops, restaurants, and Mungret playground,” says auctioneer Lisa Kearney.
The fourth bedroom is on the ground floor, ideal for a buyer looking for space for a home office. Other accommodation includes a spacious kitchen diner, a living room, a guest WC as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms, one en suite, on the upper level.
Already attracting a lot of attention.
The €225,000 guide on this modern, well cared for, three-bed semi at 10 Carn na Ree on the Old Singland Road shows just how affordable Limerick City prices can be.
According to Declan Barry of O’Connor Murphy Auctioneers, this is the type of affordable property that’s now in very short supply for FTBs.Â
“It’s only been listed for a week but we’ve had huge interest,” he said, noting that the 2005-built house is tastefully decorated and in impeccable order.
Offering 1,140 sq ft of accommodation, it has a living room, a guest WC, and a kitchen diner with modern units, as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms, one en suite.
“It’s in a popular residential area walking distance of Childers Retail Park and the Parkway Shopping Centre, and is also close to schools,’’ says Mr Barry.
: Expected to exceed its asking price.
One of just a tiny number of new developments recently released in Limerick, Revington Gardens offers space and comfort on the North Circular Road — one of the city's most sought-after residential locations.
A niche development of 13 detached three-storey properties with three house types, it’s being sold by joint selling agents Hickey O’Donoghue and Rooney Auctioneers. Prices start at €625,000 for a 2,120 sq ft four-bed going up to €950,000 for a 2,750 sq ft five-bed one.
Tom Hickey of Hickey O'Donoghue Auctioneers says nine of the properties are still available and that the interest level is high.
The location is within a 15-minute walk from the city centre and close to shops, schools, local amenities, and Thomond Park, home of Munster Rugby.
Spacious and new with one of the city’s best addresses.
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