House prices cut by €140,000 as homes lie empty
The moves come as the property market becomes flooded with rental properties
TWO leading property developers have slashed prices on new homes and apartments by up to €140,000 in a desperate bid to tempt buyers.
Castlethorn Construction has dropped its prices by €100,000 on houses and apartments it is selling in Adamstown in West Dublin.
Meanwhile, Menolly has cut prices by up to €140,000 on a development in Co Meath.
The moves come as the property market becomes flooded with rental properties. A new survey shows the stock of rental properties is growing by 10pc a month.
Statistics from property website myhome.ie indicate that sellers of properties are deciding to rent them out because they can't sell. Rents have fallen by 3.5pc in the first six months of the year.
Potential first-time buyers are holding back, believing it makes sense to pay rent for a year of between €15,000 and €20,000. They have calculated that prices will have fallen a further €30,000 in that time.
Drastic
That view appeared to be borne out yesterday when Castlethorn Construction and Menolly Homes both drastically cut their prices.
At Adamstown, Castlethorn has lopped €100,000 off the price of four-bedroom houses which are now selling for €425,000. Three-bedroom homes have been reduced by €55,000 to €355,000. The developer has also reduced prices at its Rathborne development in north-west Dublin.
Aislinn Barrett of selling agents Gunne New Homes said the new prices better reflected market realities. "It is not desperation. It is a response to market forces," she said.
Menolly Homes has cut 40pc off the prices of homes in Dunboyne, Co Meath. A four-bedroom with a garage has come down from €600,000 to €475,000 -- a cut of €125,000.
Three-bedroom townhouses have been reduced from €500,000 to €360,000.
A spokeswoman for Sherry FitzGerald said the price cuts were extreme, but insisted the new prices meant the homes were now good value.
Hooke & MacDonald economist Geoff Tucker estimated that the prices of new homes would fall to 2003 levels, which suggests cuts of 30pc.
- Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor
