The Radisson Blu Hotel in Lough Atalia was a hive of activity last Friday, April 24, as leading property agent DNG Maxwell Heaslip & Leonard held its April auctions which featured 26 lots in total. The arrival of bidders from 1.30pm onwards ahead of the 3pm start was an early indication of the intent for the day, and indeed by 3pm the veranda lounge was full to capacity with anxious vendors, hopeful bidders, and one or two interested spectators.
With 26 lots going to auction, all in attendance were prepared to give up their afternoon as they waited patiently for their lot to feature, and despite the initial slight delay in commencing the auctions due to traffic delays, once James Heaslip took to the auction floor there were no delays as he lowered the gavel on lot after lot.
The first lot of the day was No 120 Gleann na Ri and bidding moved swiftly from the opening bid of €65,000 to the sale price of €98,000, following 12 bids. Lot 2, Keane’s Bar, Athenry, came to market with an AMV of €140,000 and, again, bidding moved swiftly in €5,000 increments to reach the sale price of €195,000 at which auctioneer James Heaslip lowered the gavel. Lot no 3, No 10 Lower Newcastle, saw a number of bidders vying for the prize with bidding commencing at €250,000 and, following 20 intense bids of €5,000 increments, falling to €2k-€3k increments for the final few bids, the hammer eventually fell at €324,000.
The hammer continued to fall on the next number of lots with a commercial unit in Ennis, Unit 1 Westgate Business Park, generating particularly high interest, registering 28 bids from the opening bid of €170,000 being exceeded by just over €100,000 to reach the final sale price of €275,000.
Other lots of particular interest included No 11 Cuirt Eanna, Long Walk, which took only five bids to exceed the reserve and sold for €210,000; and Nos 13-28 Cuirt na Cora, Tuam, which proved to be the marathon auction of the day. This block of unfinished apartments came to market with an AMV of €40,000 and, while interest was expected to be strong given the attractive AMV, even the selling agent Fergal Leonard MIPAV could not have predicted the level of intense bidding that ensued. Bidding commenced at €40,000 and continued in various increments from €1,000 to €5,000 with numerous bidders contributing to the 67 bids which ensued until the sale price of €170,000 was achieved, much to the amazement and relief of the onlookers. Auctioneer James Heaslip worked hard to facilitate all the bidders while maintaining momentum through an intense 10 minute period.
Location again proved a winner as evident by the swift sale of a lovely bungalow in Freeport, Barna, with sea views, which took a mere six bids to sell at €325,000. Also popular were apartments in Woodview, Doughiska, and Cuirt na Rasai, Ballybrit, all of which exceeded their reserves on the auction floor.
Commenting on the day’s proceedings auctioneer James Heaslip said: “We are delighted with how the day went. Selling 24 properties out of a possible 26 is a fantastic result in anyone’s book. We put a lot of time and effort into planning and organising the marketing strategy for every auction and always run a comprehensive five to six week advertising campaign with four weeks of open viewings. All our properties get this attention with one of our directors personally assigned to each auction property. This attention to detail is key to our continued success on the auction floor.”
DNG Maxwell Heaslip & Leonard will hold its next auctions on June 5.
For more information contact the team on 091 565261. For a full list of auction results see www.dnggalway.ie
