Last Friday saw DNG Maxwell Heaslip & Leonard bring nine lots to the floor in the first of its summer auctions. In a packed auction room in the Imperial Hotel in Eyre Square, there was standing room only for many who attended to watch the afternoon’s proceedings. As is usual with the city centre based agents, there was an eclectic mix of properties, with something to suit all buyers from across the spectrum. While, unusually, only one of the nine lots offered to the room sold under the hammer, a further four lots sold directly after the auction, with three more of the lots still under negotiation but expected to sell by the end of the week.
The first of the lots to be offered to the floor was in Railway Avenue in Clifden which was withdrawn with an offer of €61,000 and sold for a higher figure immediately after the auction. The next lot to come to the floor was No 35 Cluain Dara, Knocknacarra, and with no shortage of buyers and after a flurry of bidding the property was sold for €162,000, well in excess of the guide price of €135,000. A young family bought the house and were clearly overjoyed with their purchase, as were the satisfied vendors. The next lot in Menlough was again withdrawn just short of the reserve and sold immediately afterwards. Della Strada at Silver Strand also went sale agreed after auction to the highest bidders on the day. Both lots were the subject of intense negotiations after the auction, but with sales agreed on both properties, all parties involved are very satisfied with the final outcome.
Four of the remaining lots were taken from the floor without bids, but not unusually, the business of selling the lots began after proceedings and continued long into the evening and over the weekend. No 12 Radharc Na Farraige, a four bedroom semidetached bungalow in Knocknacarra, had a number of parties interested, and after much negotiating a sale is expected to be agreed privately. Both the city centre properties in New Street West and Fr Burke Road were withdrawn without bids, but again there are interested parties trying to settle on a selling price for both. The penultimate lot of the day was 9 St Clare’s in Taylor’s Hill, and while the property was withdrawn with a bid of €575,000, negotiations on this impressive family home are also ongoing with the highest bidders, with a successful outcome expected for both buyers and sellers before the week’s end.
The final lot of the day saw the historic Costelloe Lodge in Casla, Connemara, come to the floor. With local and national television crews, documentary makers, and radio crews present, this sale certainly attracted the most attention, and although it was withdrawn without bids at €340,000 four separate parties showed immediate interest in buying the property directly after the auction. While none of the interested buyers were prepared to show their hands on the auction floor, after some negotiating a contract was signed on Monday evening and all parties involved were satisfied with the final outcome.
DNG Maxwell Heaslip & Leonard director James Heaslip MIPAV MCEI, who heads the firm’s auction team, is not surprised by the day’s proceedings. “Our experienced sales team were immediately on hand to deal with under bidders, and each of the lots offered to the floor has been priced to sell,” he said. “Buyers, especially in this market, are more cautious in the bidding process, and as a result they don't often sell on the auction floor and may end up being sold directly afterwards.
“Auction is a proven method which brings things to a head, where private treaty sales can drag on and can often lead to undue delays,” he added. “At auction, the benefit to both seller and buyer is that once it’s agreed on the auction floor or directly afterwards, then both vendor and buyer are secure in the knowledge of an agreed sale.”
With the business going from strength to strength, the city's leading auctioneers is already launching its next auction this week, which will take place on June 14. The company is also reporting a large increase in private treaty sales for the first quarter of 2013 with a serious supply and demand issue fuelling speculation that house prices are on the rise in Galway city. On top of that, the letting division, with in excess of 400 properties under its management, has seen a demand for three and four bedroom homes reach unprecedented levels and is now starting a major drive for top quality homes to meet the large numbers of renters looking for homes in Galway city and surrounds.
For further enquiries on DNG Maxwell Heaslip & Leonard's upcoming auctions or details on renting your property call 091 565261 for a professional service that is second to none.
