BLOG Mount St Anne’s – rus in urbe in Milltown

Blog Post by Owen Reilly, February 4th 2016

When Park Developments bought the site of what is now Mount St Anne’s, they were aiming to provide one of Ireland’s most prestigious residential developments. Located overlooking the River Dodder at the top of Milltown Hill, the landmark site was bought in the 1990s from the Sisters of Charity and, while protest from local residents held up progress for a number of years, O’Mahony Pike Architects were challenged to design a scheme for the 22-acre site that would incorporate the protected Victorian buildings and centuries old trees. Today the complex comprises 625 varied luxury apartments, duplexes and houses in beautiful, leafy grounds; from their semi-rural idyll, residents enjoy pedestrian access to local Milltown amenities and Luas access to the city centre from the stop outside the development’s western side.

Strong prices for highly sought after Mount St Anne’s

While the market overall rose and fell back during 2015, prices in Mount St Anne’s, while they followed this trend, remained strong. This reflects a low number of properties for sale and the overall market recovery but, most of all, how highly sought after Mount St Anne’s is by prospective home-owners. Overall, property values in Mount St Anne’s have recovered by 35% since 2012; the 2015 record price was achieved for an exceptional five-bedroom, 229 square metre (almost two and a half thousand square foot) home at 1 Merton Crescent; it was sold in August for €962,500. While the sale represented the year’s highest transaction price, the price per square metre at €4,203 per square metre (€390/sq foot) was far from the highest. Tellingly, the average per square metre price during 2015 was €5,429 (€504/sq foot) while our firm achieved €5,875 (€546/sq foot) for a two-bedroom apartment at 82 Milltown Hall.

Those who live in Mount St Anne’s and those who want to live in Mount St Anne’s

All Mount St Anne’s listings – apartments, duplexes and townhouses – attract great interest. We observe in particular the consistently high number of enquiries we receive from Milltown residents and Mount St Anne’s residents. Among the investors, we have observed those who are resident in the area who like Mount St Anne’s specifically, and regard their property in the development, not only as a secure investment, but also as somewhere to retire at a later date. At every viewing we meet potential buyers who are either renting in Mount St Anne’s or already own in Mount St Anne’s and have ambitions to trade-up; the first-time buyers we see are in their mid-thirties at least with interest in all levels within the development.

Micro-market will do well in 2016

While we believe the market has entered a phase beyond recovery, and that prices have in general aligned with values, we do expect price growth in Milltown this year and particularly in prime developments that include Mount St Anne’s. We are encouraged by enquiries received and anticipate increased activity during the first half of the year that will be motivated by bank lending that aims to meet its quotas.

Owen Reilly, February 4th 2016