Business
Estate agency sells over €3m worth of property at auction
A local estate agency sold around €3.3 million worth of property at auction, with one of the properties – a beautiful unfinished cottage in Cleggan – achieving more than twice its guide price.
However, while the landmark ‘Bal’ pub in Salthill was withdrawn from sale after failing to achieve its asking price, it has since gone ‘sale agreed’.
The cheapest selling price on the day was a three-bed semi in Rockland Avenue, Ballybane – in need of modernisation – which sold for €50,000.
Colm O’Donnellan of O’Donnellan and Joyce Auctioneers said there were between 300 and 400 people in the auction room in the Harbour Hotel.
“We’re absolutely delighted with the tremendous interest that there was, particularly in family homes, and delighted for the clients who were mainly private individuals, and prices achieved on the day,” said Mr O’Donnellan. He said many of the homes had up to five bidders interested.
Galway City:
The Bal pub – which was developed at a cost of €2.9m in 2005 – was on the market with a price tag of €350,000, but was withdrawn at €320,000. Negotiations continued after the auction and it is has since gone ‘sale agreed’ with an unknown buyer.
In Salthill, the big news of the day was No. 8 Glenard Avenue, a four bed semi-detached house, which had a reserve price of €350,000. It attracted five bidders to the point of its reserve price, and three people subsequently bid it up to €425,000. According to Mr O’Donnellan, this is the highest price achieved in the area in recent years.
Also in Salthill, No. 17 Lenaboy Gardens – a four-bed semi – sold for €290,000 – 45% over its guide price of €200,000.
On Taylor’s Hill, a four-bed detached home at Rivendell exceeded its reserve price of €360,000 and sold for €406,000. There were three interested parties.
A two-bed ground floor apartment at Ocean Wave in Salthill was withdrawn at €144,000, having failed to reach the reserve price and is still available for further negotiation.
In the city centre, a 2/3 bedroomed apartment at Fisherman’s Wharf off Bowling Green, sold for €195,000 (the reserve was €160,000).
In Forster Court, off Forster Street, a three-bed semi attracted interest from two investors, who were keen to acquire it for rental purposes.
Bidding commenced at €160,000 and after consultation with the vendor, it was placed on the market at €172,000 and sold at that price, €3,000 below its asking price.
No. 13 Moyola Park in Newcastle, a four-bed detached house, attracted a number of interested parties and bidding commenced at €250,000. It was withdrawn at €275,000. A two-bed tax-designated apartment at the Gort na Coiribe complex on the Headford Road, saw bidding commence at €90,000 and increase in increments of €2,000, until it was sold at €110,000.
A three-bed unit (that sleeps four people) at the Glasán student village in Ballybane was sold just before the auction at its guide price of €80,000.
Also in Ballybane, a three-bed semi in need of modernisation on Rockland Avenue attracted two bidders and sold at its reserve price of €50,000.
In Ballard, Barna, a detached home in need of modernisation sold for €320,000 – 60% over its reserve price of €200,000.
A semi-derelict three-storey house on Merchants Road saw several bidders vie until the hammer came down at €85,000 – €20,000 over its reserve price.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune….
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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