We all knew that new build apartments were gonna be the first to get hit badly. Well here we seem to have the first case (that I know of) of an entire development in Belfast having its prices slashed. In total, almost a quarter of a million pounds worth of reductions, over 5 apartments.

I though this was worth having its own topic, because I think this is something we will be seeing alot of in the future, with the hundreds of apartments that are getting thrown up all round Belfast. No one will want to touch them with a barge pole. However, developers cannot afford to hold on to the apartments forever, so prices will have to be reduced.

The reductions are as follows:

Apartment 1: 2 bedroom

Was £185,000 - now £130,000

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=ECSECS10341

Apartment 2: 1 bedroom

Was £150,000 - now £110,000

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=PNC276543

Apartment 3: 2 bedroom

Was £195,000 - now £150,000

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=ECSECS10348

Apartment 4: 2 bedroom

Was £185,000 - now £135,000

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=PNC276562

Apartment 5: 2 bedroom

Was £187,500 - now £130,000

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?p=PNC276563

Still too expensive.

Ditto to that. I went in wanting to say that it is starting to represent value but it just is not close. If they were in the centre of Belfast in a good development, maybe, but where they are is neither easy for transport nor is it the best area (though i do not claim it to be the worst).

Oh don't get me wrong, I still wouldn't buy at this price!

It's interesting to see such large drops though. Will be interesting to see if/when they sell at these new prices.

Keep us posted.

i think about 80k and i might go look at it

My own barge pole is still too short for these new prices , but, I guess, there will be people who take this for a bargain and buy. Talking to some people over the weekend I have been surprised how much bull sentiment is out there still, with arguments like "an EA has just sent me an even higher valuation" or "my friends have just lost a bidding war" (fancy that!), while my own arguments were dismissed as nothing more that a sign of my desperation after "missing the boat".

hmm, dramatic drop - how much roughly would each one have cost to build - any ideas?

A rough guestimate is ok.....

cheers..

yeah anyone??

definately a bank putting the pressure on developer situation here i would say.

really as great news - altho not an area i would buy - but it is now a new benchmark price for the area.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is this "development" just another big house that has been butchered into a bunch of apartments?

Not a particularly great area - not even worth 80k

I'd buy one for that, and even for a wee bit more.

It's a pity no one has told the developers of Titanic Quarter, Sirocco Works, the Obel Tower etc. Developers with stock to sell will be the most desperate to bail out, regardless of where they have built. Secondary to that, the investors who have bought and are looking for a resale will keep the powder damp for years to come.

really hard to say as not sure if it is a new build - looks very like that is the intention. I would think that this would be built for between £200,000.00 and £230,000.00 making the assumption that it looks like about 275m2.

thats for the whole thing not just one flat

But they had to buy the derelict house for rebuilding first, and that was probably quite pricey (a couple years ago). And, of course, they need a wee profit... and there's sooooooo many people moving to NI and there's not enough building land, and the fundamentals are sooooo solid, and, what's most important, there are quite a few dummies out there!

I think that these apartments will probably sell quickly - not because they are terribly good value, but because alot of people will see the reductions as a bargain, considering what prices were like at the peak last summer.

I bet that's exactly what they're banking on (literally!).

Don't be so sure, Joe. A FTB 100% IO mortgage at 5.8% is still 630 quid a month, plus the 1300 stamp duty & rates etc. You can rent similiar in the area for 450/month. As keen as people were to jump on when prices were going up, many may wait for a bit yet

Yes - exactly! Well said.....



I pulled out of Titanic at pre-contract - lost £500 - 50% of the booking fee. I can't see how all the Obel, Titanic, Sirocco, plus quite a few others are really going to all attract buyers, the BTL boom which previously ensured the sales of apartment blocks has dried up. The credit/mortgage landscape and falling house prices meaning amateur BTLer's cant MEW for deposits will take quite a chunk of the previous purchasers out of the market... Then trying to get tenants wont be a breeze either......

Look at Planning dept schedules on link below, ever more developers applying for planning permission for apartment blocks in Belfast - i cant believe they will get them all sold....

http://www.planningni.gov.uk/Devel_Control...t/schedules.htm (scroll down page a bit..)

regards....

- I can't wait to see what happens when all these hundreds of apartments all over Belfast are finally completed. I don't see how anyone would want to go anywhere near them at the stupid prices the developers have been asking.

For example:

http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?r...p;p=TRLTRL49370

I have been working near Sandy Row for the past 2 years, and as far as I can remember this development has been going for all that time, and is STILL not finished.

These flats are literally squeezed in behind some bakeries/greasy spoon cafe's in sandy row. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate how BAD the location is.

A quarter of a million of a 2 bedroom flat there? Who are they trying to kid? I wouldn't buy that flat at half the price.

Just took a look on propertynews.com there - the estimated completion date for the Obel tower is late 2009 at the EARLIEST.

Just think of what the NI housing market will be like by then...

Couldn't agree more. I wonder how many people agreed to buy these when they were released during the boom and thought they couldn't lose! Just sell them on when they are completed and you don't actually have to pay for the whole thing and make a quick profit! Well you know property only goes up.

yup when the penthouses at the top are being repo-ed I'll be there bidding.

£250k for that flat - worth half that. crazy.

I thought someone had mentioned the completion for Obel as being put back to 2010..

However, allegedly - if you have a look at the link below, post 526, if the poster's source is correct, there are concerns over whether the Obel will get built at all - allegedly...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.p...927&page=27

Also, on the subject of large towers, look at link below...Makes you think re Obel, Aurora...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7265284.stm

Schemes on the mainland are being mothballed, see below:-

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/buy...=moretopstories

(You may need to copy and paste whole link into brower)

cheers....

Oh my, April could be a blood bath...

Not sure I agree. April is not far away. Provided you complete in the next tax year than that is job done for the revised tax rate. I'd expect to see lots of BTL properties entering the market now to meet the early April completion. Not sure the effect will be as big as we hope.

Well, I can't imagine it helping keep the prices up, put it that way.

It just seems to me that prices have been dropping for the last few months, even if the BTLers haven't been bailing out just yet. If the majority of those (BTL bailers) are yet to come, then it could add serious downward pressure as the rats attempt to leave the sinking ship.

Made me laugh that did.