Following public outcry regarding the steep pricing of newly-built affordable houses at the Oscar Traynor Road estate in Dublin, overseen by the Dublin City Council, revised, significantly lower costs have been announced. The revaluation comes in the wake of growing objections over the excessive fees advertised a fortnight ago, which reached up to €475,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached house catered towards those whose income barely exceeds €106,000. These prices were around €100,000 more than the initial projected cost when the deal to build this property on the council’s site in Coolock was finalised with developer Glenveagh in 2021.
In response to the uproar, the council has reduced the minimum price for a three-bedroom house to €360,931, extending the opportunity of home ownership to buyers with lower incomes. Consequently, these homes will now have a much higher equity stake by the council, nearly hitting the 28 per cent mark.
Dave Dinnigan, the Council’s head of housing delivery, informed council members during a crucial meeting last Monday that no further funds will be claimed by Glenveagh from the amplified house pricing. The surge in costs was influenced by inflated market values, as suggested by council’s evaluators and an independent estate agent, that placed the value of Oscar Traynor Woods estate’s three, two and one-bedroom houses at €500,000, €450,000, and €325,000 respectively.
The affordability measurement, under the scheme’s criteria, proposed that a buyer possessing an income of less than or equal to €106,875 is eligible, provided they pay €475,000 and the council secures a five per cent stake in the estate.
Buyers with an income nearing €90,000 are expected to pay slightly below €400,000 for a three-bed house, with the council maintaining an equity stake close to 20 per cent. Analogous percentage reductions have been applied to the one and two-bedroom houses, pricing them between €264,358 – €308,750 and €355,760 – €427,500 respectively. The council will have equity stakes varying from 5 – 21 per cent depending on potential buyers’ ‘purchasing power’.
Income eligibility for two-bedroom houses is set between roughly €80,000 and just upwards of €96,000 while for one-bedroom houses it is estimated between approximately €60,000 and just shy of €70,000.
The supposedly ‘budget-friendly’ properties have a price tag that is twelvefold the median salary. Thanks to a more significant equity share, of just less than 28%, that the council is now agreeable to accept, potential buyers have the opportunity to acquire a single-bedroom property for €254,358, provided they earn €56,000, and a double-bedroom for €325,769, if their yearly earnings are €72,000.
The initial plan was to admit applications for the scheme by the coming week. However, councilors were informed on Friday morning about the rescheduled date of July 30th. Only 16 properties will be on sale, out of 172 affordable homes scheduled to be constructed at Oscar Traynor Woods. A grand total of 835 homes are slated for the estate, the rest is set to be an equal split between cost-rental and social housing. The completion of the initial 16 homes is projected to be early next year, and the entire estate is set to be fully built by 2027.