Affordable/Social housing next door.

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doberden

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Affordable/Social housing next estate balbriggan

Hi,

I'm currently looking at an investment in Balbriggan in Mt Rochford (4 bed) which is a great estate with houses at good value. Within 100 metres from this estate I have found out they are building 220 houses, half of which are affordable housing and half are social housing. Do you think this could effect the future value of the investment property?

I've nothing against social or affordable housing but this is just an investment so capital appreciation on my property is very important!
 
Hi there - I am familiar with the area of Balbriggan and housing prices.

I can tell you that there is an estate in Balbriggan that was sold with 40% social/affordable housing. This has brought some social problems, exacerbated by investors renting out houses in the estate, this reduced the number of owner / occupiers and residents have had problems with some of the investor's tenants as well as the social housing recipients.

As a rule of thumb, residents have found that difficulties with social/affordable housing residents are much easier solved as the council have been very supportive. Difficulties with tenants of investment properties were not so easy to iron out, and many of the residents are still having problems with anti social behaviour.

However, with regard to housing prices - this estate that I am mentioning has seen quite a rocket in prices since the first phase was built. As a guideline, 4 bed homes in this estate were first marketed 3 years ago in the region of €200K. At present, while there are no 4 bed houses in the estate on the market, they would be valued in the region of €300K - that's an increase of €100K in the space of 3 years.

Mount Rochford is one of the most popular estates in Balbriggan & there is a large demand for 4 beds to let in the town.

I hope this is of some help to you, if I can answer any further queries I will.

Mo
 
Thanks for that reply. The social/affordable housing scheme is further on up the road past the entrance to Mount Rochford so maybe it won't be a problem.

My only additional problem is that I've no cash at the moment to put towards this investment so I'm remortgaging an investment property to cover 15% + Stamp. This means total mortgage will be about 1,750 per month with rental at 1,200 so most of the mortgage will need to be interest only. Not ideal but I'm looking at long term. Let me know if anybody has thoughts on this.
 
I am sure the people who will be occupying the social housing will not object to anti-social snobs living near them??
 
for me it's an investment property. If it was for my own personal use I wouldn't have any issues at all.
 
Hi Ian,

I have to confess that i have more than a passing interest in Balbriggan as I'm a resident!

Balbriggan is one of the last remaining areas in Dublin where you can get good quality affordable housing. I mean have you seen a 4 bed semi-d anywhere else for that price? IMHO there are only 2 areas in Dublin where housing is affordable to a certain salary bracket - Clondalkin & Balbriggan. Balbriggan is better served by public transport and is a growing & up and coming town. The new developments have produced a large amount of investment purchasers, however there is also a large number of migrant workers living in the town due to the low levels of rent available.

Typical rents for a 4 bed would range from €1K to €1,200K per month. There is a reputable letting agency based in the town called "Turnkey Rentals" - I'm not affiliated in anyway! I have heard good reports on them and they will give you a good idea of the prospective rental market and apparently provide a very efficient service to any landlord.

You've seen my comments about the appreciation of a certain estate in Balbriggan - I would say that it was typical to most of the new developments that are located closer to the main town centre and train station. The further away from the town centre you go - the less desirable and less appreciation. Also houses in the new estates such as Moylaragh don't do as well because they are off the ring road and there are no local shops nearby. That is set to change with a new local village centre off Flemington Lane within the next 12 months but for the time being it's not as high in the pecking order as Mount Rochford.

You can expect an influx of workers and more people living and working Balbriggan in the short to medium term. Fingal Bay Business Park was officially launched today with already 50% of the workspace being reserved. M1 Business Park, which is currently under construction at the first exit on the M1 motorway looks very small at the moment but actually extends to both sides of the motorway and when constructed (under a 10 year plan) will be huge.

HTH

Mo
 
mo3art said:
Hi Ian,

I have to. Also houses in the new estates such as Moylaragh don't do as well because they are off the ring road and there are no local shops nearby. That is set to change with a new local village centre off Flemington Lane within the next 12 months but for the time being it's not as high in the pecking order as Mount Rochford.

Mo
Click to expand...

Just have to disagree with some of the above. 3 bedroom house bought in Moylaragh 1.5 years ago for €230k, recently a similar one went for €305k in the estate. 4 Beds went on sale at around €280k over a year ago. Estate Agents are always leaving in leaflets asking if people want to sell the properties so I believe the houses are doing quite well. The shops (dunnes etc) were due to be open in October but that's now looking more like Nov or Dec. Had a look at them over the weekend and they look very near to completion.
 
Sorry Cahir - point taken.

What I'm trying to get across is that those houses appreciate slower than those in Mount Rochford. That's not to say that they don't appreciate at all. As a matter of fact, property in Balbriggan is rocketing at the moment!

Value of a 3-bed semi-detached has jumped by €20K in the past month AFAIK.
 
Just announced in the paper that the Dart will be extended to Balbriggan as part of the Governments 10 year transport plan. That won't do any harm to property prices there!
 
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