Blog post by Emer Costello and Owen Reilly, March 7th 2017
Named for the eponymous ‘beautiful harbour’ on the Grand Canal, Portobello in Dublin 8 has all the ingredients a twenty-first century city neighbourhood needs: attractive leafy streets; a cultural background of interest; independent foodie outlets and eateries that are among the best in the city; the green banks of the Grand Canal to one side and the city centre to the other. A positive prevailing twenty-first century attitude towards city living has motivated increased interest in Portobello and it has matured to provide an increasingly self-contained neighbourhood that is sought after by young professionals and young families who want to enjoy a relaxed, residential environment within walking distance of the city centre. We observe clients choosing houses in Portobello as alternatives to city-centre apartments and we observe clients trading up from Dockland apartments to Portobello houses. Our Dublin 8 office off Camden Street receives enquiries daily from house-hunters who are charmed by Portobello. Many of these house-hunters are people who had previously been attracted to neighbouring Ranelagh but now consider Portobello as a more affordable, and even more conveniently located, alternative.
Pleasant nineteenth century streets offer red-brick housing stock of great interest
We have heard some debate among residents as to where the boundaries of Portobello in fact are and, as the market for Portobello grows, we have observed the definition of the area become more generous! At its heart however, it is the pleasing grid of streets that run parallel to the Grand Canal between Portobello Bridge and Clanbrassil Street and northward towards the South Circular Road. The housing stock in general comprises houses with a limited number of apartments – notably those at Portobello Quay overlooking the canal and at St Kevin’s Church on Bloomfield Avenue. More modest two-up two-down houses are located closer to the canal with larger, more ornate Georgian-style and Victorian villas on the streets perpendicular to the canal and closer to the South Circular Road. There are numerous examples in these streets of gritty flatland houses that have been converted to sumptuous family homes and the signs of gentrification are everywhere from Lennox Street – home to The Bretzel Bakery, The Greenery on Lennox Street, the very smart offices of designers Red&Grey and the very upmarket Wayward Hair Salon – down to the raved about Bastible restaurant at Leonard’s Corner. Potential doer-uppers still abound however; one such current opportunity is on leafy Bloomfield Avenue; a street of red-brick houses set back from the road with gardens to the front and to the rear, homes on the street are highly sought; the last recorded sale was 34 Bloomfield Avenue, sold for €765,000 in 2015*. On offer at the other end of the market are two-up two-down townhouses; the sale of 14 Lennox Place, a typical two-up two-down, closed in February at €406,000*.
Low stock motivates strong demand in beautiful Portobello
All Portobello listings will attract great interest from first-time buyers or from buyers in search of interesting renovation projects that will provide desirable townhouses or investments and, against the general backdrop of the much-documented low stock of housing available, demand for property in Portobello is particularly strong. This reflects very low availability – on myhome.ie at present there are just six houses for sale – but, most of all, the increasing desirability of Portobello. Average prices have increased from €332 per sqft in 2011 to €443 in 2016**. While these prices represent value by comparison with Docklands or with Ranelagh where 2016 per square foot prices were €522 and €526** respectively, as the neighbourhood matures, and buyers’ taste evolves, we expect continuing price growth in beautiful Portobello.
*psr.ie
**propertyweek.ie
Blog post by Emer Costello and Owen Reilly, March 7th 2017
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