IRISH PROPERTY NEWS – 9th MAY 2015

Irish Property News Update

Royal London Asset Management dumps Dublin property

Interesting sale on by CBRE at the moment. Interesting in that it’s not a property sale by NAMA or any  of the banks. It’s being sold on the behalf of Royal London Asset Management, a leading UK based fund management company with £82bn in assets under management.

It’s a €118m (guide price) portfolio of property, comprising retail (61%) and office space (39%), mostly in Dublin with a little bit in Cork.

One would wonder why sell now when every other property firm is guiding growth in both rents and capital appreciation.

Details of the ‘Sovereign Portfolio’ on the CBRE website here.

Landlords to become ‘debt collectors for Irish Water’

Fintan McNamara, the head of the Residential Landlords Association of Ireland, is lobbying to try get the government to change their mind on a new proposal that he says will effectively make landlords “debt collectors for Irish Water”. He has warned that landlords may need to triple deposits in order to cover themselves if this rule comes to pass. The Journal has more details here.

Dublin Prime Rents to Reach ‘New Highs’

Kennedy Wilson, a property investment firm with $18bn in assets under management, has stated that Dublin prime rents will reach new highs over the next two years. As a company that would benefit from such an increase, well, they would say that wouldn’t they. Perhaps it’s a first move, or a warning shot, for any tenants with up coming rent reviews. The Irish Times has more detail here.

Property is top asset class for financial advisors

A survey conductor by investment managers Quilter Cheviot has found that over 50% of financial advisors are recommending property investments as clients search for greater yields. This has overtaken equities which was the most recommended investment last year, but equities still remain in 2nd place on 45%. This also means that cash, gold and bonds are only favoured by 1.2% of respondents. More detail here.