This article is from page 52 of the 2005-08-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 52 JPG
THERE was a time, up to about four years ago when Shannon property prices lagged behind other towns in the county, but this is no longer the case. The airport town has played serious ‘catch-up’ and starter homes are now on a price par with those in Ennis.
According to Fachtna O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald McMahon, “the price of property was artificially low, because Shannon Devel- opment housing stock was sold off cheaply throughout the town, keeping the price of town houses down. This in turn affected the price of property in the higher price brackets”.
He added, “town houses are now reaching their true value and this has had a knock-on af- fect, having increased the value of property in the higher brackets too. Shannon prices used to be, on average, 30% lower than Ennis, this has now narrowed to zero in some brackets, although in the more expensive detached cat- egory, similar properties will make more in Ennis”.
Rory Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Auctioneers, Shannon, agrees that Shannon property prices have come of age. “In the second hand mar- ket, good quality semi-detached properties, in fairly new developments are on a price par with their counterparts in Ennis. Prices for the older terraced style housing are around €150,000 plus. We recently sold a mid-terrace house in good order in Aidan Park for €163,000. The detached property market is small in Shannon and you can expect to spend €260,000 upwards
for this type of property.”
As a yardstick for prices achieved on modern apartments, Fitzpatrick said, “we recently sold 800 sq ft two-bedroom apartments in Ballyca- sey for €168,000”.
Fitzpatrick continued, “We have a develop- ment called Cluain Alainn, in Hurler’s Cross, on our books. Phase One sold out really quick- ly. It’s a mixed development of 57 houses built by Martin Fitzgibbon. The semi-detached
houses appealed to first time buyers and inves- tors, while the detached houses attracted buyers trading up, from Shannon. The semi-detached properties started in price from €185,000 and the detached houses from €230,000. All of the houses in Phase One were sold off plans about 6—9months ago”.
With a very buoyant rental market, investors remain interested in property in the airporttown. A new ‘tax designated’ development called Bru
na Sionna, currently under construction is sure to appeal to investors and professionals alike, working in the airport town. Apartments in the visually striking, up-market development have been released for sale by Sherry FitzGer- ald McMahon. The scheme consists of 119 two and three bedroom apartments, penthouses and three bedroom townhouses. The units are laid out in five blocks ranging in height from two to six storeys. Each block differs in style and shape, with some having gardens around them and others have balconies and terraces.
All of the properties are tax designated un- der the Urban Renewal Scheme and qualify for Section 23-type relief of up to 92 per cent. The two bedroom apartments cost from €228,000, town houses are priced from €262,000, while prices for the penthouses have yet to be final- ised.
Fachtna O’Donovan believes that the rental market will continue to remain strong in Shan- non. Commenting on current trends, he said, “Shannon is proving very popular with work- ers from overseas and workers from other parts of Ireland, due to the jobs availability in the towns’ industrial estates and the airport”.
O’Donovan concluded, “having been in Shannon since the mid sixties, I can see the town finally maturing into what was envisaged by the planners back in the fifties. In fact many people who have moved to Shannon in recent years have said to me that they would prefer to live in Shannon rather than Ennis or Limerick due to the facilities, the safe feeling they get in the town and the sense of community”’.