WALFORD, Ireland's most expensive home, sells for €14,000,000.
Eight years on, the home is sold for a €44m loss
Often dubbed Ireland's 'most expensive house', 'Walford', 24 Shrewsbury Road, which became infamous following its sale in 2005 for a record €58,000,000 (€63.2m including stamp duty), has finally been sold. The sale represents a €44m loss, or €49.2m including stamp duty. It will always be remembered as the most outrageous residential property sale of the boom, however it is very likely no longer owned by the Dunne / Killilea family who were widely reported as being the beneficial owners of the property and of Matsack Nominees Limited, the company who owned the property. The couple never lived in the property and still own a neighbouring residence, 'Ouragh' at 20A Shrewsbury Road, which is currently rented to the South African embassy.
The sale was first reported today on thepropertypin.com, where one user noticed the sale of the property appearing in the property price register at €14,000,000. The sale, which took place on the 29th of March, was somewhat unexpected as the house was last marketed in late 2011 with a €15m asking price and was eventually withdrawn in early 2012 having failed to sell. The entry into the property price register would have taken place as late as yesterday, or in the days leading up to yesterday due to the lag in entries. Figures report that 75% of properties appear in the register within 30 days of the sale, which is about in line with 'Walford', with 96% appearing within 90 days. The sale also comes at a time during which the supposed owners are engaged in various legal entanglements, with Mr. Sean Dunne filing for bankruptcy in the US recently.
I presume the property represents an actual sale, rather than a switching around of owners for legal/financial reasons, and it is interesting that it achieved such a high price. Recent rises in prices have been widely reported in the Dublin market, and thus it is likely that this sale has been driven by this. The market has shifted significantly and if the house would have had little hope in late-2011, early 2012 of achieving €14m, it is less of a surprise that it managed to in these highly active times in the property market. It is almost inevitable that 'Walford' will be the largest residential sale of 2013.
Switching it up on Shrewsbury
The increased appetite for high-end homes has been evident in the last year, with 'Walford' being the seventh home to sell on Shrewsbury Road since the beginning of 2012. This represents an extraordinarily large 23% turnover of residents on Ireland's most expensive, and once very settled, street in a short period of time. The street has notably lost Celtic Tiger high-flyer Derek Quinlan as his three homes on the street have been sold, along with with Pharmaceutic Society of Ireland at 'Woodside' and long-time residents of the street - the Kidney family at 'Coolbeg' and the Neary family at 'Lissadell'. 'Coolbeg' was purchased by Liam Shanahan, presumably the businessman whose family's engineering company, Shanahan Engineering, was sold for a sum believed to be in the region of €25m in 2010. 'Lissadell' was purchased by Martin Shields and Francesca Shields (née Francesca McWilliams), who is a member of the legal profession. Closer to 'Walford', 'Woodside' has been purchased by Ballyroan Residential Ltd, a company said to be owned by Capvest's Seamus Fitzpatrick. The purchaser of Quinlan's 1&3 Shrewsbury Road's identity remains unknown and is likely to stay that way for some time. The property already has permission to redevelop the site as a single mansion that will be one of Dublin's finest properties if said development goes ahead.There has been no planning applications lodged as of yet on 'Walford' since the sale, although it is likely that the new owners - if their intention is to develop the site and not keep it in hopes of capital appreciation - will seek to demolish the existing house, which is in a bad state of repair. Planning on Shrewsbury Road is a complicated matter. Matsack Nominees Limited, the trust who owned 'Walford', lodged numerous planning applications over its years of ownership seeking to redevelop the property and lands, but between complications in getting planning permission and the untimely demise of the Celtic Tiger, the property has not been developed. Likewise, the neighbouring Chester Beatty site on Shrewsbury Road is one of the longest running property sagas of recent times. Having been purchased for £7.2m in the late 1990's, the c. 1 acre site has never been developed due to planning problems and objections by local residents. It is unlikely that Walford will meet the same fate if the new owners intend on redeveloping the home as their own private dwelling, however only time will tell what their intentions are.
What
is more certain is that the sale of Walford will be soon be picked up
by the major newspapers such as the Irish Times, and they will possibly
be able to shed more light on the sale.