The property market meltdown may have cost the building industry – and the taxpayer – countless millions but Waterford developer Noel Frisby is confident of making money out of cheap land.
In a weekend interview with the ‘Sunday Independent’, Mr Frisby revealed he’s just bought a 36-acre plot of land in the city suburbs at a knock-down price (with his own cash) and plans to build houses on it – even at a time when there are empty units and ghost estates all over the country, Waterford included.
Snapped up for €2.75m, the prime Williamstown property – beside an undeveloped 22-acre landbank that Edward Holdings paid the City Council €45m for at the height of the boom – is close to shops and other amenities, with good schools nearby.
At €76,400 an acre (compared to the €2m/acre his ‘neighbours’ coughed up) the deal will allow him to construct and sell good-quality houses, fully furnished and energy-efficient, for €170,000 each – a value lending agencies are willing to provide mortgages at.
Indeed, he’s already “bucking the trend” by finishing the remaining houses at Greenfields on the Old Tramore Road. “People are buying our houses so we must be doing something right!” he evinces. “Purchasers are more discerning and want a well finished house in a good location and obviously at a fantastic price. Hence we’re selling the large 3-bedroom homes in Greenfields at €169,500 which is the best value in Ireland.”
See The Munster Express newspaper for full story.
