More than 1,000 people have applied to buy just 99 “affordable” apartments and houses costing up to €473,000 at the former O’Devaney Gardens flat complex site near the Phoenix Park.
The prospective homebuyers will learn this month if they have secured one of the 88 apartments and 11 houses being built in the latest phase of the largest State-subsidised housing development under construction in Dublin city.
The vast complex of 1,046 homes in blocks of up to 14 storeys high, now called Montpelier, is due for completion in phases by 2027.
The first phase of 66 apartments went on sale last summer, with prices ranging from €257,900 to €320,625 for a one-bed, and €334,000 to €406,125 for a two-bed, depending on the buyer’s income and the floor on which the apartment was located. These first buyers are due to move into their newly completed homes next month.
Applications for the 99 homes opened at the end of November and closed the week before Christmas. Within the first week, more than 800 buyers had applied, increasing to 1,097 when applications closed.
One-bedroom apartments cost between €248,000 and €331,550, and two-beds are priced between €320,000 and €414,200, depending on the buyer’s income and the apartment’s location.
Almost all of the 1,046 homes will be apartments, with just 23 houses. The latest affordable housing sale has included 11 three-bedroom houses costing €378,000 to €473,100, depending on the selected buyer’s income.
Under the affordable purchase scheme, eligible buyers are offered a discount on the market value of homes, with the State taking an equity stake to reflect the discount given. Buyers on lower incomes pay less, but the State takes a higher stake in their homes than with people on higher incomes.
In O’Devaney Gardens, the council is providing discounts of between 5 per cent and more than 27 per cent. While the salary range for one-bedroom apartments is €56,000-€75,000, and is €72,000-€93,000 for two-bedroom apartments, those buying the three-bedroom houses will have incomes of €85,000- €106,000 and still be considered in need of State support.
The 14-acre site of the former 1950s flats complex off the North Circular Road is being developed by Bartra following a contentious deal eventually approved by Dublin city councillors more than five years ago.
Initially, the site was to be sold to Bartra with the agreement that 30 per cent of the new homes would be for social housing and 20 per cent for affordable purchase; the remaining 50 per cent were available to Bartra to sell privately.
However, councillors would not approve the deal and, to secure their agreement, Bartra offered to sell a portion of these private apartments to the council or a nominated housing body for a cost-rental scheme. A total of 264 cost-rental homes will be provided. The first 75 cost-rental homes will be offered to tenants in the coming months with rents set at €1,490 for a one-bedroom apartment, €1,695 for a two-bed and €1,895 for a three-bed.
Under the cost-rental scheme, rents are based on the cost of building, managing and maintaining the properties. The scheme is designed for workers who earn too much to qualify for social housing but cannot afford private market rents. Under its terms, applicants can earn up to €66,000 after tax, but should not spend more than one-third of their income on rent, although some flexibility is allowed for renters who can show they were managing to pay higher rents in the private sector.
O’Devaney Gardens was due for regeneration 20 years ago, with developer Bernard McNamara awarded a public-private partnership contract to redevelop the estate with a mix of more than 800 social, affordable and private homes in 2006. Construction never began and the deal collapsed in 2008.