Thursday, Jun 28, 2007
Jumping on to the Titanic as it hits the iceberg?
Belfast Telegraph: People flash the dough for Ormeau devlopment
Over 100 luxury apartments at the former Ormeau Bakery site in Belfast were snapped up in a few hours, generating £35m worth of sales - without any advertising - it was revealed today.
A one-bedroom apartment at The Bakery ranges in size from 550 to 650sq ft, selling for £250,000, while two-bed flats (800 to 1,000sq ft) cost between £300,000 and £360,000 for the lucky few who got in on time.
Note the prices - the 'lucky' few?
Posted by shipbuilder @ 03:46 PM (252 views) Add Comment
8 Comments
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1. Drewster said...
Those prices beggar belief. The Ormeau Bakery site isn't particularly central (about 1.5 miles from the city centre) and although it's next to a park, it isn't by the sea which traditionally adds most value to a property. Even in London you could find apartments in nice areas of zone 2 or 3 for the same price.
Northern Ireland has slightly lower salaries than the UK average and there are far fewer City-style bonuses in Belfast. I can only assume that southern Irish investors are piling into the region after cashing in on the boom in the south and flush with cheap euros at 4% interest rates (compared with sterling at 5.5%). The Northern Ireland economy is heavily dependent on the public sector with about one-third of the workforce employed directly by the government; there's no private-sector recovery yet.
The Republic of Ireland benefited from membership of the Euro: interest rates were low and American companies used Dublin as a friendly low-tax English-speaking home for their European operations. The same story is unlikely to be repeated in high-tax high-interest Belfast. There simply aren't the jobs to support house prices as high as these. Northern Ireland is showing the worst signs of the housing bubble.
For a look at how well-paid jobs in NI are, see: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/ni_it_wages/
(title: Northern Ireland touts low IT wages)
2. Nohpc said...
Certainly doesn't seem to fit in with the NI is crashing theory anyway. It would seem quite the opposite judging from this.
3. Koala Bear said...
The Northern Ireland property market has truly gone mad. Why on earth would anyone want to pay those prices for a flat in Belfast? Surely the rental income won't even cover mortgage costs?
4. Koala Bear said...
The Northern Ireland property market has truly lost the plot. Why on earth would anyone pay that much for a flat in Belfast? Surely the rental income won't even cover mortgage costs, let alone property maintenance fees?
5. sovietuk said...
"Buyers have also agreed not to sell their property within the first 18 months to ensure the scheme develops as a community as well as a good investment. "
I wonder what the typical profile of the community minded purchaser of these properties is?
6. dohousescrashinthewoods said...
lucky suckers ;)
7. Tara747 said...
"Buyers have also agreed not to sell their property within the first 18 months to ensure the scheme develops as a community as well as a good investment. "
Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Can that be legally enforced??? Imagine all those poor specuvestors not being able to sell once the crash hits - which I am sure will be within the 18-month timeframe.
Couldn't happen to a nicer crowd of people.
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