Yesterday at the Holiday Inn in Belfast, Osborne King held one of their now regular property auctions – the catalogue is here, the results are here and are summarised below. 18 lots were up for grabs though on the day, only 16 were offered as one was sold beforehand and one was withdrawn. As with the Allsop Space auctions in Dublin, Osborne King use the concept of “maximum reserves” so punters know in advance the price above which a winning bid is guaranteed to get the property. Yesterday six of the 16 properties didn’t reach their reserves so overall the auction saw prices achieve being 33% above maximum reserves and a 63% success rate, considerably down on Allsop Space’s 90%-plus performance with far higher volumes of lots. Overall the result was also considerably behind the last Osborne King auction in Belfast in December 2011 when a 82% success rate was achieved and the overall sales total exceeded the maximum reserves by 8%. I don’t have a report from the auction floor yesterday but it seems that the secondary market in Northern Ireland might have a finite cash ceiling available to it, though another interpretation is that Osborne King’s pricing of maximum reserves this time round was not as accurate as last time (8% above max reserves in December 20111 when sales were achieved, 33% yesterday).
NAMA Wine Lake 
The Belfast Telegraph has published a slightly over the top account of the auction :
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/tyrone-police-station-snapped-up-100000-at-auction-16128822.html
But it does give an indication of the peak prices of some of the residential lots.
I do like the use of “lucky bidder” to describe the new owner of a fortified former RUC station in Co Tyrone.
@ NWL There was an emphasis on properties in Portadown and Cullybackey which might also suggest that there were local issues.
I do like the barracks though. Over 5,000 square feet of accommodation , with plenty of space, your own generator etc, all for €130,000.
@Niall If you’re keen there will be plenty more coming on the market as the PSNI reduces its bases from the 140 it inherited in 2001 to 49 in 2015.
Here’s one on the market in North Belfast : http://www.propertynews.com/Property/Belfast/PNC558014/804-Shore-Road/