Northern Ireland property company, BTW Cairns, held a very successful auction at Belfast’s Europa hotel this morning when 22 lots came under the hammer, 2 having being sold before the auction. The auctioneers used the “maximum reserve” device made famous on this side of the Border in the Allsop Space auctions, so punters knew in advance the price above which bids would be accepted. All 22 lots were sold at the auction at an average of 32% over maximum reserves, and thanks to the good folks at Property Pal and their twitter feed, we can bring you the full results now. The auction catalogue is available here.
According to the most recent quarterly survey of house prices in Northern Ireland by the University of Ulster/Bank of Ireland, prices have fallen 44% from the peak in 2007 to the end of September 2011, a very similar rate of decline to the 47% suggested by the CSO’s house price series on this side of the Border. There is no indication with the individual description of the lots that the property has been repossessed, though you would hardly call any of the property “prime”.There is not really enough information to provide a guide to current yields. The 100% success rate today would appear to place BTW Cairns at the top of the league in terms of Irish auction results. The next Allsop Space auction will be held on 1st March, 2012 in Dublin, and the catalogue is due to be published on Monday next, 6th February.
