Colm O’Donnellan and Tony Joyce of O’Donnellan & Joyce auctioneers know all about selling property during a recession, having set up their highly successful business in 1982, in the depths of our last recession.
“People said we were mad to set up a business when we did, but we were enthusiastic and confident that we could succeed, and we did,” said Colm O’Donnellan.
Having cut their teeth in the sector during the tough times, they have experience on their side to deal with the downturn now.
“While Galway has a number of positive factors working in its favour, including the fact that it is a university town, it is a major tourism centre, and it has attracted the sort of multinationals in recent years that are proving resilient, nonetheless even Galway isn’t immune to the falling property prices experienced elsewhere, but perhaps to a lesser degree,” Tony Joyce added.
“Prices are down by as much as 40 per cent compared to 2007.” As he sees it, estate agents have a number of ways open to them to deal with the situation. “We put money back into our company, we upgraded our website, we continued to advertise when everyone else stopped, all of our staff including the two principles work all day Saturday, which is our busiest day of the week, and we organise open days for our properties at weekends,” he said.
In terms of trends, O’Donnellan reported, “We are back to the way we were, in that people are looking to buy a home, not an investment, and because of that three bedroom semis are popular again, with people wanting their own front and back door and a little garden. With secondhand houses, if they are priced right and well located, buyers don’t mind investing some additional cash to make improvements.”
O’Donnellan & Joyce buck the trend by holding regular auctions. “This surprises a lot of people in the business, especially those outside Galway, but it works for us. We have held a number of very successful auctions in recent months. Last month we had six properties for sale on the same day and we had over 250 people in attendance. Five of the six properties sold on the day and the sixth sold within a few days of the auction.”
The firm recently relaunched properties on behalf of O’Malley Construction. “They had a stock pile of unsold properties across a number of developments. In conjunction with O’Malleys, we promoted the properties heavily, slashed prices, organised a one-day sale at which we sold 30 units.
“Likewise we sold 10 houses on behalf of Sawgrass Developments in Knocknacarra in the space of a month. The houses were reasonably priced from €325,000 for a four bedroom semi.”
However, Joyce acknowledged, “Sales are taking a lot longer to close. From our perspective we have to keep at it until the sale closes.”
Asked what are typical prices in Galway at present, Joyce said, “A three-bedroom semidetached house in Knocknacarra will sell for between €220,000 and €250,000, a four bedroom semidetached property will sell for between €240,000 and €260,000.
“It is difficult to generalise on the prices achieved for detached houses as it depends on the location and condition of the property. But certainly the sector that has been hit hardest are the really upmarket properties, the ones priced over €2 million.
“Apartments too are proving more difficult to sell, as people are favouring a small house over an apartment and there are issues with management fees, etc.
“There is definitely value to be had right now,” Joyce added. “Who knows if the market has bottomed out? But when it gets to the stage where a mortgage is cheaper than rent and when you can’t buy a site and build a house for the price a property is being offered at, then we know we are certainly not far away from the bottom.”
