St. Marknocks Bay, Portmarnock

#1

Hi there,

Our situation is that we are living abroad at the moment and plan to move back to Ireland in the next 12 months (dependent on securing jobs etc).

We want to buy before we move as we need certainty of area for kids daycare etc. Then while the sales closes, find jobs in the following months.

We were looking at the St. Marnocks Bay development in Portmarnock. Does anyone have any insights into this development? I would assumed the house listed currently would go for far less that 575k.

As we are non-residents the LTV ratio is much lower for us thus restricting our budget.

Any insights would be appreciated.

#2

can you expand on this please? do you mean that you assume it will go for much less or do you mean before looking at for sale ads you assumed you would get that type of house for a lot less than that kind of price…? new developments such as that do not tend to have flexibility on price so just to flag from the get go if it is asking 575k, that is what it will probably sell for…

#3

“Then while the sales closes, find jobs in the following months.”

Can returning emigrants apply for and draw down mortgages if they don’t already have a job in the country?

#4

yes just buy the house and draw down based on current jobs abroad, quit those jobs once sale completes and money is drawn down and then worry about getting jobs after… or alternatively just dont get a job and dont make any mortgage payments and stay in it for years as the family home enjoys so many protections…!

#5

Exactly you can get a mortgage based on current income in other country.

#6

Sorry what I meant was if there are no buyers at 575k, the developers I presume would have to lower the price?

Do you know anything about the development/area?

#7

But if they’re returning home, wouldn’t that mean they’re quitting their jobs abroad and that shouldn’t be taken into account?

#8

The Bank would view it as a Buy to Let investment so the rate is higher and once it becomes your PPR, the rate reverts downward to the standard rate.

The very worst case scenario is that we could not secure jobs and would have to let out. However, we are in industries where that should not be a problem. Obviously will have all the research done on that beforehand.

#9

there are buyers at 575k though. the houses in there are selling and achieving up to 715k for larger ones… this type of house is getting the 575k asking price. the development is fine its right beside the Portmarnock Dart but depending on what you like for me personally its a bit too in the middle of nowhere. like all new developments there is an element [usually at least 10% of the total houses] of social housing in the development and i believe social houses were handed over to the approved housing body recently.

unfortunately if your interest in the development is contingent on the prices dropping substantially then you should probably look elsewhere for the time being and maybe at second hand homes within your budget [new homes in high demand due to low deposit requirement for first time buyers and prices are inflexible].

#11

Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear. We can afford that, I just assumed (wrongly) the asking price would not be achieved.
Thanks for that. We are home over the Christmas so will explore (obviously after 2 weeks of quarantine). My wife knows the area better than me and said the same thing.

A new build is attractive as we essentially would not need to do as much work from abroad in terms of getting an engineer to do a review etc… don’t have to worry about the roof needing a replacement in 2 years.etc.

#12

While it is almost always the case that the price for new builds is fixed, it has been flagged elsewhere on this site that there are evidence of some price drops in new build developments, mainly at the higher end it appears though (€900k+), for example Enderly in Dalkey:

#13

That area is very isolated.
If you don’t use the dart,
Good luck getting out from the junction in the morning.

A good few developments have reduced prices.

The developer at No ONE Springfield has gone bust.
Is this a sign of things to come…

I’d imagine a few will try hold out.
The big question is will they pay the price in the long run.

#14

Are you referring to buyers or sellers/developers holding out (and paying the price)??

#15

Developers.

I think smart ones are in the process of lowering price.

You’ll always find a few who will hold out to the bitter end.

#16

It was reported earlier this month that “House builder Glenveagh Properties is cutting prices on hundreds of luxury homes in Dublin and Wicklow in a sign of weak demand at the top end of the market.”

Then they reduced the prices of their one bed apartments in Greystones from €495k to €385k. So, I don’t think developers are reducing their prices just primarily on the €900k+ range.

I would guess many developers are waiting until the budget to see if there will be any additional supports before pulling the trigger on further advertised price cuts.

Here’s the Irish Independent article on Glenveagh: https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/glenveagh-cuts-prices-on-luxury-properties-in-dublin-and-wicklow-to-accelerate-sales-39513776.html

#17

Brookside, Stillorgan Grove,

Enderly, Dalkey,

Cairn homes have also reduced prices on a few developments to move stuff.

A lot of high end properties now have POA.
Which suggest to me they would be open to offers.
(Obviously not stupid ones)

#18

Depends on how one defines a stupid offer. Many developments built at the back-end of the celtic tiger in the west are currently being offered at prices that are less than the cost to build them 15 years ago.