Wealthy Chinese individuals are sourcing homes in southern Dublin via local real estate agents, their decisions majorly influenced by the good standing of fee-paying educational institutions in the region. These agents, representatives of prospective purchasers in China, are inspecting houses situated in areas in close proximity to these reputed schools, with some providing live viewings to potential Chinese purchasers.
Brian Dempsey, a partner at Stillorgan’s DNG Estate Agents in Dublin acknowledges that Chinese agents often represent prospective buyers at property viewings. He comments, “Their presence is quite noticeable, they’re in the market to purchase.”
The price range of €600,000-€800,000 is most popular among interested buyers, says Guangqian Yu, owner of Vanke Ireland, a buying agency based in Fitzwilliam Square that specialises in advising Chinese customers on acquiring properties in Ireland.
Yu dispels the notion of luxurious homes being a preference, stating, “Contrary to popular belief, grand and expansive houses aren’t a priority in Dublin. They prefer a humble approach and favour homes that meet their requirements, not those that flaunt their wealth. It’s rare for them to purchase a property worth more than €1 million.”
His agency’s Facebook page lists numerous properties exceeding the €1 million mark. In addition to purchasing residential properties, they often invest in a couple of properties for rental purposes, typically in locales like south inner city, Grand Canal Dock, and Ballsbridge, where rental demand is high.
Almost all of Yu’s clients are successful recipients of the ‘golden visa’ under the Immigrant Investor Programme. The sudden termination of this programme in February 2023 by the government, primarily due to the surge in interest from China, resulted in a predominately Chinese applicant population. The abrupt closure, instead of a gradual phase-out, was driven by the risk of a last-minute deluge of applications.
The Department of Justice reported that around 2,700 applications were pending when the initiative was terminated. Data unveiled by the department reveal that in the preceding year, it received a total of 1,954 applications before the scheme reached its termination on 14th February 2023. Notably, apart from 41, 1,316 applications in 2022 were predominantly sourced from China. This figure drastically spiked compared to 306 applications in 2021, where 282 were Chinese.
Regarding eligibility for the programme, candidates needed to possess a net value exceeding €2 million, and commit to investing €1 million in an Irish enterprise or contribute a charitable donation of €500,000, or €400,000 in certain instances. The approved 215 applications in 2023 accounted for an aggregate investment of €184.5 million, as per departmental records.
Although not required to relocate, many participants opt to reside here, as conveyed by Yu, with a preference to raise their offspring in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the abrupt cessation of the initiative, Yu believes there is a sufficient number of pending applications to sustain his business operations in the forthcoming years. A minority of the approved families utilise his services, though he chose to not disclose these figures. Multiple agents in Dublin represent Chinese buyers.
Yu pointed out that private school fees in south Dublin, ranging from €6,000 to €8,000, are far less than equivalent schooling fees in China, which is around €20,000 to €30,000. Predominantly, families prefer to enrol their children in globally higher-ranked universities in the UK and US, over Irish ones.
According to the company webpage, Vanke Ireland (International) identifies itself as Ireland’s pioneer real estate agency licenced by China. The webpage outlines the “housing crisis” in Ireland as one of the key factors for investing in the country, informing potential investors of the continuous upward trajectory of Irish property prices.
Yu, who founded his agency in 2016, highlights the increasing tendency of Irish landlords to exit the Irish property market. This, he notes, opens up investment opportunities for his clients who need investment property in order to sustain their lives in the country. Therefore, Yu is recommending that they purchase not just their own property, but one or two additional properties as an investment.
Until 2020, it was standard for his clients to physically visit Ireland before purchasing properties. This however, changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they began investing remotely from China. Despite the end of the pandemic, the trend of making ‘sight unseen’ purchases continues, backed by Yu’s on-ground assistance.
Chinese investors benefitting from the visa programme have made significant investments, particularly in social housing and nursing home sectors in Ireland. Yu credits these actions with having an overwhelmingly positive effect on the Irish housing market. By investing in property, they are also bolstering the private rented sector as local landlords retreat.
Most of these investors, Yu states, are individuals in their 40s or 50s, belonging to China’s elite and have profited from China’s property market. He mentions an instance of a client who was able to sell a three-bedroom apartment in Shanghai for around €3 million, using part of it to buy a property in Dublin and investing the balance in rental properties – enabling him to avoid working.
Solicitor Ben O’Rafferty, who has served Chinese families relocating to Ireland, holds the belief that the handling of the Covid crisis in China significantly shocked people and had a lasting effect.
Many argue that Irish properties are overpriced, Yu says, however, when one draws a comparison with big cities such as London, New York or Hong Kong, property prices in Dublin are only a fifth or a tenth per square foot.
The Vanke Facebook page mostly uses Chinese to discuss Irish properties being sold by local real estate agencies. Notably, recent posts largely concentrate on south Dublin and feature properties newly listed on the market.
Highlighted properties consist of a €1.5-million, four-bedroom house on Bird Avenue, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14; a property complex on Rock Road Place, Blackrock, Co Dublin with houses starting at €1 million; another €945,000 four-bedroom property in the Nurseries, Dundrum, Dublin 14, and finally a home on Grotto Avenue, Booterstown, Co Dublin up for €895,000.
Attorney Ben O’Rafferty, operating from Merrion Place, Dublin, has worked for Chinese families relocating to Ireland investing in property. According to him, “Education is the number one priority. They want their kids to attend Irish schools”. He points out that not all of them are “golden visa” recipients. Ireland entices the Chinese due to its safe environment, high living standards and impressive education system, with the opportunity of a “stamp four” visa- a permit to live on the contingency that they can financially support themselves.
O’Rafferty also feels that the Chinese response to Covid-19 instilled an enduring sense of fear among people. He states “the way Covid was managed in China really shook people to the core.”
A prospective homebuyer informed The Irish Times of an incident where he noticed Chinese individuals with headsets, seemingly live-streaming the property showcase and providing commentary in Chinese. “The appearance of live-streaming rather than recording, leads to concern about property prices being driven up,” he reported.
The man, who chose to be anonymous, ceased bidding on two properties due to this concern. These included a house on Kilmacud Road Upper, Dublin 14, and one on Sweetbriar Lane, Kilmacud. Both properties initially listed for €995,000, but were eventually sold for a considerably higher amount.
Brian Dempsey, an agent for DNG, typically requests that Chinese agents hold off from live-streaming or recording video during property viewings until other attendees have finished looking around, as it can often cause discomfort. Despite the majority of bidders typically being Irish, including Chinese bidders can increase the end sale price of a property, Dempsey notes.
He also recognises that well-regarded schools based in south Dublin have a significant impact in enticing an escalating amount of affluent global citizens to invest in Ireland’s property market.
Another working in the same industry, Shane Hanevy, a property consultant with Bohan Hyland & Associates in Rathgar, is presently selling a Clonskeagh house that features on the Vanke Facebook page. Hanevy revealed that a Chinese buyer’s agent viewed the property though they didn’t place a bid. Yet, the property has so far received bids over €200,000 beyond the initial asking price of €1.25 million. He has also observed Chinese client agents engaging in the act of videoing properties.
“It’s happening and it’s becoming more common, though it’s still not everyday you encounter this,” he remarked.
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