O’Donnellan & Joyce brought the curtain down on 2011 with a hugely successful auction where it placed 15 properties up for sale and disposed of 11 in the auction room, leaving the remaining four under active negotiation.
According to Colm O’Donnellan of O’Donnellan & Joyce auctioneers the auction has proved to be by far the best method to dispose of properties, especially when clients wish to turn their properties into money quickly and gives the opportunity for buyers to bid for value.
The auction room in the Victoria Hotel, along with the large foyer and bar, were packed to capacity where buyers and sellers watched enthralled at the intensity of the bidding which was shown on live screens throughout the hotel.
The first property to be auctioned was No 35i Merchants Dock, Merchants Road, Galway. The bidding on this two bedroom apartment, located on the fourth floor, commenced at €90,000 and several different people bid intensely in increments of €2,000 until eventually the auctioneer’s hammer fell at €136,000 to enormous applause from the packed auction room.
The second property to be auctioned was an investment apartment at No 19 The Waterfront, Bridge Street. Opening at €80,000, three people bid intensely on the property and eventually it was sold at €101,000.
The next property to be auctioned was a bungalow in Menlo. Described by the auctioneer as “an oasis of tranquillity only three miles from Galway city centre”, bidding commenced at €130,000. With a reserve price of €150,000, and having reached that price within minutes, five individuals bid for the property until eventually it was sold at €196,000 to a delighted young purchaser.
Number 12 St Bridget’s Place, Woodquay, comprised a gilt-edged property investment situated just off Eyre Square. Bidding commenced at €120,000 and rapidly increased up to €137,000, with two individuals bidding intensely for the property, and eventually sold for €137,000.
The next property to be sold was a three bedroom townhouse in the GMIT student complex at No 118 Glasán, Ballybane. Bidding commenced at €80,000 and increased in increments of €1,000 until it sold at €87,000. No 143 Glasán, Ballybane, was sold immediately prior to the auction for a figure believed to be in the region of €100,000.
The sixth property to be auctioned was a four bedroom semidetached residence in excellent condition at No 9 Rosán Glas, Rahoon. This property attracted a considerable amount of interest, particularly from first time buyers, and was extremely attractively priced. Beginning at €130,000, it reached the reserve price of €145,000 within minutes with bids coming from all over the room. Eventually, the final bidder was exhausted and the hammer fell at €180,000 to a couple to the delight of all in attendance.
The next property to be auctioned off was a small two bedroom investment property at No 2 Caladh Mór, Woodquay. Bids on this property commenced at €76,000 and reached €83,000. Having not reached the reserve price, auctioneer Colm O’Donnellan went out to consult with his client and returned to the podium to place it on the market. The property sold for €83,000.
Next up were the offices at No 2 Flood Street. This property was a suite of offices of 800sq ft. Bidding commenced at €98,000 and increased in increments of €2,000 and was purchased by an investor at the price of €106,000.
A detached house at Manor Avenue in Kingston, a 5,000sq ft home on a one acre site just off the Kingston Road, regarded as one of Galway’s premier residential areas, also sold at the auction. Bidding commenced at €620,000 and went to €660,000 before it was withdrawn and entered into negotiations with Colm O’Donnellan and it is believed to have been sold at a considerably higher place, closer to the AMV of €750,000.
A three bedroom bungalow in Lydican was the last property to be auctioned on the afternoon. Bidding commenced at €120,000 with several bidders chasing the property until they reached a figure of €135,000. Just as it looked like the hammer was going to come down at €140,000, a fresh bidder entered at €142,000 and the property was sold at €42,000 above the guide price.
According to Colm O’Donnellan the vast crowd and the intensity of the bidding proved that there are buyers out there for good quality properties in good locations that are realistically priced. O’Donnellan & Joyce placed 79 properties up for auction in 2011 and sold 73 through that method, a 93 per cent success rate, which is the highest number of properties auctioned by any auctioneering company outside Dublin and generally thought to be the best success rate throughout the country.
O’Donnellan & Joyce’s next auction will be held on Friday February 24. For all enquiries contact the O’Donnellan & Joyce offices on (091 ) 564212.
