Coopers mill, dundonald

shalis

I know someone thinking of buying a property in Coopers Mill, D'donald. http://www.btwcairns.com/new_homes_specific.aspx?ID=375 I could be wrong, but my instincts tell me that properties there seem to be a bit overpriced in the current market Although property prices in NI have taken a big hit in recent years, it seems to me that the prices in this development have not come down at all. A walk around the development suggests that most of the units have been booked or sold, so maybe it is simply a case of the demand being there. I would just be interested in hearing the views of people with a first hand knowledge of this development in particular ie anyone who has recently purchased there or dare I suggest, someone working in an Estate Agency which is not directly concerned with Coopers Mill.

BigAl94

This is a great forum for discussions of this nature http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showforum=52

I agree they are overpriced imho by around £20k per unit minimum. Prices are still falling and this will continue for some time to come. Units may be "booked or sold" but how many of these are actually occupied? It would not be unheard of for certain tactics to be employed to give the impression there is interest in a development.

highrisklowreturn

Many of these will have been sold I suspect to good offers. Happens in every line of business and particularly in property. If they're saying 125 offer 90 and tell them you're skint. All they can do is turn you down. Personally I don't know why anyone would pay those prices for that location. You can buy a house off the Malone Road for £150,000 nowadays, live beside doctors, send your kids to the best schools, and be a bus ride from town. At Coopers Mill you're in the middle of nowhere, convenient to Ballybeen.

caz2703

shalis wrote: »

I know someone thinking of buying a property in Coopers Mill, D'donald. http://www.btwcairns.com/new_homes_specific.aspx?ID=375 I could be wrong, but my instincts tell me that properties there seem to be a bit overpriced in the current market Although property prices in NI have taken a big hit in recent years, it seems to me that the prices in this development have not come down at all. A walk around the development suggests that most of the units have been booked or sold, so maybe it is simply a case of the demand being there. I would just be interested in hearing the views of people with a first hand knowledge of this development in particular ie anyone who has recently purchased there or dare I suggest, someone working in an Estate Agency which is not directly concerned with Coopers Mill.

It's been a few months since I had a drive in there myself but to me it didn't look like many people were living there. Just had a look at the price list as £165K for a 3 bed semi :eek: Scary :eek:

Given where it is, the fact there's nothing close by but a dual carriageway and Ballybeen (as mentioned) I can't say it looks like good value for money.

harvey1964

Its definitley selling. I know at least 6 people who have recently purchased here, and their houses are lovely, they must have reduced them ?????
They sell turn key !!! how good is that .......HEAVEN !!!
Its lovely tho no nicer than the other developments around dundonald, and yes I agree, would prefer nearer the village .....

wanchai_2

It's waaaaay overpriced!!!! :rotfl:

saverbuyer

This development (like most new build developments) is way way over priced. The reason developments like this have any sales is because of direct government support from schemes like co-ownership and the new first buy scheme where the government gives you a 20% loan for the deposit. The first buy is only available on new builds.
I would stay well clear of this. New builds are like new cars and drop in prices from the moment you set foot in them. Why would anyone buy the house off you in 5 years when they can buy new from the developer on another phase?
There are other examples in the tread of posters building their own houses and fining the value dropped significantly when trying to remortgage. I think one poster found he couldn’t remortgage having spent 150,000 on the site £350,000 on the build and the house ended up being worth 300,000.
These developments are a one way ticket to some really negative equity.
Coupled with the fact it’s in the middle of nowhere. I would be looking to spend 150,000 on an older detached rather than a small new build.

Oh and by the way prices dropped 15%+ between 2009-2010 and look to have dropped the same if not more this year. I couldn’t cope with the thought I over paid on a house (or a site like the poster mentioned above) and was paying the bank interest all the time.

Scary.

Also I wouldn't be suprised if it looks busy because the developer rented some of the stock out. Looks to be common practice round my parts anyway.

shalis

Thanks for all the replies. I also know someone who has recently moved in to this development. The houses are very nice and seem to be well finished. They are as has been mentioned "turnkey" which is clearly an advantage for most people. There does seem to be a fairly high occupancy rate with those units which are completed, but maybe the developers just work to order, ie. complete more quickly on the ones which have definitely sold. I do take the point made by saverbuyer about co-ownership. As someone who owns their own house, but has not bought/sold in a long time, I do feel this development is overpriced, but hey, if people are able and willing to pay the prices asked, then why on earth would the developers reduce their prices. The demand seems to be there. I don't know categorically, but I would be surprised if they are taking "offers" as opposed to sticking to the quoted prices.

A.L.D.A

shalis wrote: »

I don't know categorically, but I would be surprised if they are taking "offers" as opposed to sticking to the quoted prices.

There is never any harm in making an offer. All they can do is refuse! Also a building is not sold until the money actually transfers hands. I have seen quite a high percentage of offers failing.

There is another thread on the price of new build. It was about larger one off houses. The price per square foot of building was around £85 - £90 per sq.ft complete for a house with some fairly high specifications. You can build for about £65-£70 plus site works etc. That may give you an idea as to how much it costs to build these houses, then you have to add on the cost of the site. There is a limit to how low the cost of a new build house will go. That is a sad reality.

New houses are much better insulated and energy efficient and there are not that many being built at the moment.

I am very reluctant to advice anyone, but I do not see there being any huge uplift in demand in the next 9 months. No doubt you have been looking and looking already and probably know the prices of many similar houses. I find a site called Nestoria useful. There are some graphs on it that help give an idea of trends. Be a bit careful, because of the low volume of sales an unusual house (high price or low) can create some odd jumps in a small geographical location. It is the general trend that may help guide decisions.

Everyone knows the economic woes and the factors that are forcing us into economic contraction. So the question on the cost of future house prices depends on what the future demand will be, will money supply remain constricted, will disposable income continue to decline, and what will future supply be like? If you can guess that conundrum correctly then you are probably more astute than the rest of us.

wanchai_2

Just one point A.L.D.A (good post btw):

There will be economies of scale when building a development, so the cost per unit will be a fair bit lower than for a one-off house.

saverbuyer

A.L.D.A wrote: »

There is never any harm in making an offer. All they can do is refuse! Also a building is not sold until the money actually transfers hands. I have seen quite a high percentage of offers failing.

There is another thread on the price of new build. It was about larger one off houses. The price per square foot of building was around £85 - £90 per sq.ft complete for a house with some fairly high specifications. You can build for about £65-£70 plus site works etc. That may give you an idea as to how much it costs to build these houses, then you have to add on the cost of the site. There is a limit to how low the cost of a new build house will go. That is a sad reality.

New houses are much better insulated and energy efficient and there are not that many being built at the moment.

I am very reluctant to advice anyone, but I do not see there being any huge uplift in demand in the next 9 months. No doubt you have been looking and looking already and probably know the prices of many similar houses. I find a site called Nestoria useful. There are some graphs on it that help give an idea of trends. Be a bit careful, because of the low volume of sales an unusual house (high price or low) can create some odd jumps in a small geographical location. It is the general trend that may help guide decisions.

Everyone knows the economic woes and the factors that are forcing us into economic contraction. So the question on the cost of future house prices depends on what the future demand will be, will money supply remain constricted, will disposable income continue to decline, and what will future supply be like? If you can guess that conundrum correctly then you are probably more astute than the rest of us.

This site was a part of the old Taggert’s Empire and was bought for a high price from the administrator. This is reflected in the price of the finished product. It's a massive development when all the phases are combined. It's the same few house replicated.

It’s overpriced. Anyone can see it’s overpriced in the current market. Even compared to other overpriced new builds this development is overpriced.

I think the finished development will have 900 houses.