A portfolio of more than 1,100 new rental units across Dublin city is to be sold for more than €425 million.
The development, dubbed Dublin Living by Savills, the estate agent, is made up of four separate schemes that are due to be completed between the second half of 2018 and early 2020. The sites are controlled by Marlet Property Group, which is owned by Pat Crean, the Dublin-based developer, and M&G Investments, an international asset management company.
Collectively the schemes at Mount Argus and St Clare’s in Harold’s Cross, Carriglea in Bluebell and on the Cabra Road will generate about €20.5 million in annual rents based on current lending indicators. Savills, which has been appointed to sell the portfolio, said the value of the rent roll was likely to increase due to the “critical undersupply” of rented accommodation.
John McCartney, director of research at Savills, said that the number of households renting privately in Dublin had grown by 42,400 since 2012.
“However, the very limited amount of housing construction has failed to keep up with this continually increasing rental demand and the current vacancy rate in the Dublin private rental sector has been driven down to just 1.45 per cent,” he said. “Dublin’s population is also rising by around 1.4 per cent, or 20,000 persons per annum, and recent census figures show a tendency towards urbanisation in Ireland.”
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The developments are primarily made up of two-bedroom apartments. About 750 of the 1,170 units are two-bedroom, with 255 one-bedroom and 165 three-bedroom units.
Domhnaill O’Sullivan, director of investments at Savills, said that the portfolio presented an “excellent forward funding opportunity”.
“The developments on offer are in established residential locations with exceptionally high rental demand,” he said.
The latest report from Daft.ie showed that rents surged by 13.4 per cent in the first three months of the year while the total number of properties available to rent across the country fell to 3,084, the second lowest on record.
Rents in Dublin rose by 13.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March and are now 15.4 per cent higher than their previous peak in 2008.