Was asking €800k when it first went to market in November 2010:
irishtimes.com/newspaper/property/2010/1111/1224283083826.html
Now asking €550k:
myhome.ie/residential/brochure/15-sydney-avenue-blackrock-co-dublin/406704
(Note: The same property is discussed elsewhere on this site at
thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=34734&start=15;
Thanks to poster LJK for pointing out the recent price drop in that topic thread.)
Yes probably should have posted that here!
It is an interesting case to watch though.
Nice area, good site/size - but a complicated money pit without much doubt. In the absence of speculator/renovator activity in the market of any significance, this is perhaps an option only for a very small number of families. Those with access to quite a bit of capital, lots of patience and no hurry to be in a bigger home.
The vendor must realise this in time and adjust accordingly - otherwise it could sit as is for a long time yet.
The terraced neighbours can’t be thrilled either!
Interesting to contrast this with another money pit in the neighbourhood (1 Idrone Terrace) that recently sold for €1.2m, more than twice the asking price of 15 Sydney Ave, as reported here:
thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=30206&start=15
I found it hard to believe that 1 Idrone Terrace could be sold at almost ANY price, given that in a money pit like that, the extent and cost of repair/reinstatement works is an unknown factor beyond the ability of any surveyor to correctly estimate until work begins. I’m no expert but would imagine that costs could range between €250k (if all underlying structures were in perfect condition, which looks unlikely) and perhaps a significant multiple of that figure. In Idrone Terrace, several large visible cracks ran all the way up the side of the house, and the first floor afforded beautiful views of the ground floor, by way of holes near the fireplace that you could fit a small hand through.
After nonetheless seeing someone ‘brave’ enough to buy that house I concluded that it was an ‘anomaly’ and that there would be relatively few, if any, such purchasers left in the market. Now 15 Sydney Avenue may or may not be as good an address as 1 Idrone Terrace, depending on who you talk too, but EAs put similar prices on ‘walk-in’ houses in each of those streets so it’s fair to say the two properties are at least roughly equivalent to each other. With nobody biting at the €800k originally asked for no.15, what happens next with this house should be a good indication as to whether the market has any remaining appetite at all for complete renovation of period properties.
On the plus side, I personally think that Sydney Avenue is a lovely road and am delighted to see a new low asking price being set - will look forward to seeing what happens next time a ‘walk-in’ property comes to market in this road!
sale agreed, slightly north of 500k according to the agent.
A fool and his money. Given that 250k is conservative on this I think that is far from a bargain.
Hey ho.
Yes, all in a good price for the vendor.
I am sure all done up this will be a lovely terraced home, on what is a lovely road - but when you stack up the costs and what is available in the market for 500k + a reasonable refurb estimate for a place like this, I can’t see the great value in this deal that would seem anyone rush to close.
Looks like this sale has fallen through - its back on the market asking 500k
I had presumed they would sell this only to a cash buyer and not subject to survey. Another SCD bell weather property. When you see what you can get for 800k complete why would anyone but a certified nutter spend 500k on this?
Any views on WIW in the current market and on (the unrelated issue) of what it will sell for?
If this house was in fully-renovated condition, and possibly extended if the space/layout required it, I think it could command approx €1.0 - €1.2 million in the current market.
As it stands at present, the value is dependent on the cost of renovation, and in a delapidated period house, that cost is an unknown quantity, even with survey. (There are many structural problems that can come to light only when walls are broken through, floors taken up, etc - things that the structural surveyor can’t do.)
So we’d have to say renovation could cost anywhere between €300k and €1m, at a wild stab. (Any attempt to make more than a wild stab is pretty pointless when the cost is such an uncertain factor; €1m is my uneducated estimate of the cost of a four-year money-pit project that goes from pulling down brick-by-brick and restoring everything, right down to retaining artisan plasterers to recreate all the original decorative touches).
For this reason, the only possible buyer at present is a cash-rich one (as pointed out by Cheeky Offer) who has a passion for period houses and challenging renovation projects. Such buyers must exist, but can’t be too easy to find. And even the cash-rich buyer will have to eye up the top end of the possible renovation cost. It’s going to be a labour of love - so the answer to your question is entirely dependent on that one buyer.
Agree that the refurb costs of this place are impossible to property estimate in advance but even allowing for the fact that it needs a three storey extension to create a return on the back, I think your estimate of €1m for a refurb is a bit steep. Also would it really sell for €1m after refurbishment? This is a nice quiet road but 111 Mount Merrion Avenue sold for €765k and it just needs updating not gutting and it has a mews to boot, suitable for renting or a nanny/granny.
somebody will buy it for around 300k
I agree that my €1m upper estimate for the refurb is steep - that’s putting it mildly. It’s the outlier, but if I were buying this place, it’s a figure I’d consider, having heard enough horror stories about how badly wrong a period refurb can go if the project turns out to be a money-pit.
I don’t think 111 Mt Merrion Ave (€765k was my estimate of selling price, assuming €850k asking minus 10%) would have nearly the same appeal for a period-house fanatic. Sydney Avenue would be a much grander house. Moreover, Sydney Avenue, Waltham Terrace, and Avoca Avenue are considered the best Blackrock addresses (although such distinctions always need to be taken with caution - for example, there is a semi-d currently selling on Avoca Avenue that is not at all representative of its road for a whole host of reasons; viewtopic.php?f=10&t=40498). Selling price for a well-refurbished period on one of these roads will never make sense in comparison to other nearby roads that don’t hold that same premium.