[UPDATE: 9th April, 2013. Brochure now available here from selling agents, BTWShiells]
The recent Nationwide Building Society house price index for the UK showed that Northern Ireland was the best performing region in the entire UK for Q1,2013 when prices were reported to have risen an impressive 4.4% to an average of GBP 108,610 (€128,268). Mind you, according to finance minister, Sammy Wilson’s index based on all transactions for Q4,2012, Northern Irish residential prices are down 56% from peak in 2007, making their crash even crashier than ours and probably the worst property crash in the world particularly when the real decline after stripping out inflation is 63%.
So, prices might be stabilizing in Northern Ireland after an horrendous crash and anecdote suggests that well-located family homes are in demand with competitive bidding and short shelf lives. Today, a 62 acre development site owned by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, comes on the market in south Belfast. It is the site of the old Belvoir Park Hospital which closed in 2006. In its latter years it was known as a cancer specialist hospital but, when built in 1906, it was the “Purdysburn Fever Hospital”. It is off the Hospital Road and Ballylesson Road. There is outline planning permission for 310 homes, and so far, full planning permission for 110 homes.
The property is being marketed by BTWShiells, and the brochure should be on their website later today. BTWShiells has acted in the sale of NAMA property previously eg the Cultra railway station in January 2013 and it has been doing brisk auction business. This is not a NAMA property and is being sold on behalf of the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, which is ultimately under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Department of Health. The property will be sold by private treaty with no initial guide price and an online data room is being prepared.
Stuart Draffin Director from BTWShiells commented “Whilst the decline in house values in Northern Ireland over the past 6 years has been widely documented, demand for both new and resale housing in Greater Belfast has remained high, particularly in sought after residential areas such as South / South East Belfast. There is also a limited supply of land zoned for housing development in the South / South East Belfast area, which should focus strong demand for new housing in this prime location with limited competition in the new homes sector of the market. Without doubt the overall package of location, heritage, Lagan Valley amenity space and strong demand for housing in this area; render this as one of the most attractive residential development opportunities in Northern Ireland.”
Simon Brien Director from BTWShiells commented “The sale of this most prestigious site represents a unique opportunity of a high quality residential ‘Village’ style development. The combination of the Lagan Valley backdrop and open rural amenity land; and the range of house types that will be incorporated within the proposed development including magnificent apartments within the historical listed buildings, townhouses, semi detached and detached houses; will ensure that the future development will offer housing to meet most sectors of the residential housing market from the professional person or retired seeking an apartment, to homes suitable for young couples and families”
NAMA Wine Lake 
This should allow us to see one of two things:
1) How deep the pockets are of the NI cash buyers who up until now have generally only been after lot sizes of up to £2m.
2) If any bank thinks this is a sufficiently prime site to put their toe back in the water.
Anybody running the rule over this will also be looking at a development agreement for the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society site at Balmoral in south Belfast which is a much less complex site.
The other thing to add is that has taken an eternity to get anything away in Northern Ireland eg. The Public Records Office site on Balmoral Avenue has fallen through about three times in the last few years.
One that did get away outside of Belfast was 97 acres at Ballee which a consortium featuring luminaries such as Seamus McCloy, Barney Eastwood and the Lagans were interested in for £50m + in the old days. In the event an evangelical church bought in for £4m and plan to build a new Jerusalem
One for Ms Killillea?