Rush for homes after prices cut by €100,000
Developers sold 51 out of 60 new homes in just 48 hours after the asking prices were slashed by €100,000.
The Meadows, located between Swords and Malahide in north Dublin, had 60 homes for sale on Saturday, with 51 sold by last night.
In a further sign of the slowing housing market, 25pc was cut from the €399,000 asking price for a two-bed house in the development. Just 12 months ago buyers paid up to €454,950 for homes in the scheme.
Ronan O'Driscoll, from selling agents Savills, HOK described the success of the price cut to €299,000 as "unbelievable". The purchasers were all first time buyers, with many queuing from early on Saturday.
"There were around 40 people queuing when we opened at 2pm," he said.
"It's been a long time since we had a queue outside a showhouse. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a very very busy launch."
Prices started at €229,950 for one-bed apartments and rose to €340,950 for three-bed end-of-terrace units.
The Meadows forms part of the larger Holywell scheme and when the same units were launched in April 2007 prices started at €269,950 and rose to €454,950. The new prices represents cuts of between 14 and 25pc, with prices now approaching 2005 levels at the scheme.
However Mr O'Driscoll does not anticipate that all builders will slash their prices.
"Certainly other developers will be watching the process. But I'm not expecting that everyone will do the same. Some won't have a choice but others won't have the inclination and will just wait until the market settles."
Last month, a separate new development sold out in a fortnight after prices were cut by Capel Developments by up to €100,000. Fifty new homes in Ashtown, Dublin 15, were sold at prices between €335,000 and €360,000 -- €70,000 and €100,000 cheaper than when first launched in October 2006.
And Kingscroft Developments has instructed its agents to cut prices by an average of 10pc on all five new homes sites it has open in Leinster. The most notable of their developments, Holywell, is a scheme of 86 houses in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow. Launched in May 2007 prices have now been cut by around 10pc. Four-bed detached houses are now priced €695,000, down from €780,000.
Meanwhile, research commissioned by EBS among mortgage switchers has found that 83pc found it easy to switch to another lender.
- Edel Kennedy
