December 2018 - Property Links

Month: December 2018

US buyers flock to REA New York Property Expo

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American buyers’ interest in Irish property is growing very strongly, according to Real Estate Alliance who held their third US Property Show in New York last week.
The strength of the US market, which now forms over 22% of overseas enquiries for Irish property, was reflected in generating over 500 leads around the well-attended show.
“Increased wages in Ireland and the lure of better opportunities for returning emigrants has seen US property buyers flocking to secure homes and investment properties in Ireland,” said REA Chairman Eoin Dillon
“Many attendees were Irish people in their fifties who were enquiring about returning home due to the high price of education and health.
“We also met many young Irish people who were returning home to work, Irish families looking to return home and retirees looking to downsize.
“Enquiries from the US are now increasing hugely year-on-year, highlighting the return of emigrants who feel the time is right to come home.
“We also had a high number of enquiries from people interested in investment and holiday properties, and from siblings looking to group together to buy property in Ireland.”
This was the third successful US business trip for REA, who held an event in Boston last year, and is part of an overall plan to reach out to overseas buyers who represent an important market for Irish property.
“As part of our overall strategy to build up a network in the US, and engage with American purchasers, we also met with a number of buyer agents over the course of the week,” said Mr Dillon.
“During our time in New York, we met with many pre-registered buyers, buyer agents, investors, lawyers and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
“We expect many of those conversations to very quickly convert into sales, with a number of customers planning to talk further over the next two months and inspection trips already planned for specific properties.
“The average house price in the US in January, 2018 was $382,700 (€311,324), compared to our Average House Price survey national value of $277, 697 (€225,806) for quarter four, 2017, so there is obvious value for American buyers in Ireland.
“Education costs in America compared to Ireland were a constant topic in our conversations with potential buyers.
“As children grow towards college age, parents in the US may be facing costs of approximately $70,000 per year, with even secondary education costing a minimum of $15,000 per annum.”
Real Estate Alliance (REA) is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with over 55 branches nationwide, comprising many of the country’s longest-established auctioneers and estate agents.
To register to list with REA and be included in ongoing promotions to the US see www.realestatealliance.ie/NewYork2018
Ends
For further information: Eimer O’Keeffe, Marketing Manager, REA, 086 8249040, eimer@rea.ie
Media enquiries:
Darren Hughes, MediaConsult, darren@mediaconsult.ie, 086 293 7037

REA Launch Online Auction Platform

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A leading estate agency group have launched a dedicated online auction platform which aims to reduce the time taken to sell the average property from months to weeks.

REA are now the first property group to offer an integrated online and offline property service, allowing vendors to switch between the two.

The REA Online Auctions platform allows all legal documents around a property sale to be uploaded in advance, removing the unnecessary delays that affect many private treaty sales.

With the addition of the online platform, REA now allow vendors to choose between selling their property through private treaty or online auction, or an amalgamation of both.

And crucially, because the Contract for Sale is made available online, purchasers and their solicitor can inspect the legal pack and any queries can be dealt with prior to the online auction.

“The typical private treaty route can take an average of six months from instruction to exchange of contracts because the system is not set up for speed,” said REA Chairman Eoin Dillon.

“However, with the REA Online Auction option, transparency and greater knowledge on all sides helps the sales process to be measured in weeks rather than months.

“The auction period can be as long or as short as is desired, ensuring full market exposure to an agreed timeline, and vendors with a house for sale by private treaty can switch to an auction option in order to secure a defined sale date.

“The Contract for Sale and other legal documents are uploaded by the vendor’s solicitor to the online auction platform allowing inspection by interested parties and their legal team.

“The agent uploads all the relevant property details to the online auction platform including the AMV, bid increments, deposit requirements and bidding duration.

“The fact that all legal queries are dealt with prior to the online auction gives buyers greater confidence in the bidding process and, more importantly, assists in bringing the sale to a successful conclusion.

“Bidders are required to provide a refundable Bidder Security Deposit of €5000 prior to the commencement of the online auction and the successful buyer pays the balance of the 10% deposit within a period of two days.

“In a normal private treaty situation, you could go sale agreed after 12 weeks, but by the time the engineers report is completed and the sales contracts issued and exchanged the process can take as long again.

“However, with an online auction, the process is instant, with bidders pre-authorising the REA agent to sign the sales contract on their behalf.

“Signed copies of the sales contract are sent to the both parties’ solicitors.”

The REA Online Auction platform can either handle individual sales or centrally managed portfolio sales.

REA is Ireland’s leading property group of Chartered Surveyors with 55 branches throughout the country, comprising some of the country’s longest established auctioneers and estate agents.