Houses and land of one of the country’s several ghost estates are to go under the hammer at an sale for distressed property next month.

The remainder of an unfinished housing estate at Woodlands Park, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, is to be auctioned off by property-agents Allsop Space in Dublin.

Three vacant houses and four acres of land on the part finished, half occupied estate are being sold as one lot with a reserve price of €40,000 (£33,000). The site has planning permission for 31 townhouses.

There are earlier 38 finished houses sold in the original part of the development.

Former housing minister Willie Penrose, who has advocated the fire sale of ghost estates, welcomed the move last night, saying: ‘I hope that like an acorn seed, this idea will grow and bring trust to thousands of families trapped on unfinished housing estates.’

The three properties, which at their peak were selling for €220,000 (£181,000), are four-bedroom townhouses. Two are semi-detached and one is detached. Though externally complete, they need kitchen, utility and bathroom fittings.

Receivers Kavanagh Fennell has set the reserve price. Auction director Robert Hoban said the lot was being treated as a test case.

He said: ‘Obviously, we’re wary that even with a reserve price of €40,000, there’s still a lot of work to be done on this lot… It may suit a developer or interested buyer who might have plans more down the line to finish off the estate.’

It is one of 106 lots for auction at the Shelbourne Hotel on May 3. Also for sale, with a reserve of €515,000 (£425,000), is the 43-bedroom Darby O’Gills Hotel, about 4km outside Killarney. Weirs Pub on Lower George’s Street, Dún Laoghaire, has a reserve of €450,000 (£372,000). The Bank pub,  O’Connell Street, Limerick, has a reserve of €395,000 (£326,000); the Coolgreaney Inn near Gorey, Co. Wexford is on offer for €220,000 (£181,000); and Shortt’s Bar and Crystal Nightclub in Waterford has reserve price of €495,000 (£409,000).

The prices exemplify the horrendous state of the Irish property market.

Only last week, MailOnline ran a story about a five bedroom property in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, which was bought for €3.3million (£2.7m) for the period of a fierce bidding battle at the height of the property boom.

But currently, following a disastrous period for the country’s economy, the property is on the market for just €395,000 (£325,500).

The 4,080 sq ft house had been purchased in 2006 by developer’s aim on building a 60-bed nursing home.

That was little shock in light of a survey earlier this year which consider the performance of the world’s mainstream housing markets placed Ireland firmly at the bottom.

While at the end of last month, new data from the Central Statistics Office exposed that residential property prices fell by almost 18 per cent in the year to February.

The property crash has lead in more than 1,600 ghost estates across Ireland.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny is at present implementing huge budget cuts to get the country back on track after it was forced to accept a £70bn bailout from the EU – signalling once and for all the end of the Celtic Tiger boom years.

Aldar Properties said on Monday its board will meet this week to talk about asset sales as the Abu Dhabi-developer, bailed out once by the government in 2011, struggles with a property downturn.

Aldar, part owned by the government, said the board will meet Wednesday to consider the sale by the company of certain of its assets as well as other operational matters.

The developer has already sold assets to the Abu Dhabi government, including its Ferrari World theme park and the Yas Marina Formula One circuit.
Abu Dhabi bailed Aldar out in January with a $5.2 billion rescue package in exchange for 2.8 billion dirham ($762 million) in convertible bonds to Mubadala and the sale of properties. Mubadala converted a portion of its bonds earlier this month.

In January, Aldar said it would sell assets worth $1.49 billion to the government to meet debt obligations.

It did not name any specific assets allow for sale but analysts have said these could include properties such as the ‘Yas Hotel’ and some commercial and retail developments under construction.

Aldar shares were down 1.18 % on the Abu Dhabi exchange.

The Wisconsin-based department store chain buys 4.65 acres of land at Seminary Square from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Horne Real Estate for $625,000, according to the filing.

The sale was confirmed Sept. 9.

In June, Kohl’s declared it would build a store at Seminary Square, and the city permitted $1.25 million in incentives.

Neither Kohl’s nor Horne officials were available for comment late Friday afternoon, but Kohl’s Real Estate Manager Mark Lee has earlier said groundbreaking will take place in the spring of 2012 with a grand opening in the fall of 2012.

The store will face Menards and Walmart Supercenter near Sandburg Drive. The store is expected to provide 130 jobs, which would be equal to 55 full-time positions. The total payroll is expected to be $1.17 million annually.

As part of the incentive package, Kohl’s will receive a tax rebate of 1 percent of its annual sales until $1.2 million is gave to the store. It’s expected that rebate will exist between 10 and 20 years. The department store giant also will receive a sales tax repayment after the store is built for construction materials bought in the city up to $50,000 and a Federal Workforce Tax Credit.

Lee earlier had told the Galesburg City Council the store will be Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design certified to meet environmental standards.

A survey conducted by the city in 2008 “ranked Kohl’s as the number one retailer they would like to see place in Galesburg, and that Galesburg would be a good market due to a shortage of retail apparel stores,” city officials have affirmed.

Tower 42, the first skyscraper built in London’s main financial district, was put up for sale at a 3 percent discount from the price its owners previously sought 17 months ago.

Funds managed by BlackRock Inc. and LaSalle Investment Management are looking for in excess of 290 million pounds ($457 million) for the 600-foot (185 meter) tower and five other buildings on the 2.2-acre (0.89-hectare) site, the companies said today in a announcement.

Tower 42′s owners withdrew it from the market in August 2010 even though they received major offers for the property, which had an asking price of more than 300 million pounds. At the time, they said they would proceed with their own redevelopment projects for the buildings and focus on leasing space to capitalize of rising office rents in the City of London.

LaSalle Investment has while replaced Hermes Real Estate as manager of the Royal Mail Pension Plan fund, which has a 50 percent stake in the estate.

Office values in central London have got on investor demand pulled by a weak pound and as a shortage of prime space is lifting rents. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. was rehired to manage the property’s auction.

FORCETT Hall, One of the most significant country houses in the region is on the market for £5.5million.

The stately home has in recent times been used as a venue for private parties, weddings, corporate events and conferences. The new owner would take charge of nearly 100 hectares of historic parkland, which is eight miles from Barnard Castle.

“The hall, which sits in a totally private and beautiful parkland setting, needs sympathetic restoration and improvement but it offers enormous scope and potential for a buyer to create a truly stunning residence of the highest quality,” GSC Chartered Surveyors said.

Forcett Hall, which has a number of well architectural features, was designed by Daniel Garrett, a protégé of Lord Burlington. From 1582 to 1785, it belonged to the Shuttleworth family.

The hall is shown in Samuel Buck’s 1719 sketchbook of Yorkshire houses, but the property was burned down in January 1726 and was reconstructed about 15 years later.

In 1938, it was purchased by Lieutenant Colonel Hardress Waller and has stayed in the family’s ownership since.

Forcett Hall, which has three floors and a basement, is neared through a triumphal arched carriageway with four Roman Doric columns and a Doric frieze.

Nearby are the grade II-listed north and south lodges. The main building itself has four main reception rooms, 15 bedrooms a self contained east wing with three additional bedrooms.

The estate also includes a bungalow, two cottages, gardener’s house and a farmyard. The sandstone stable block has nine stables, feed room, toilet, storeroom, tack room, wash room and accommodation once use by a groom.

“Forcett Hall Park is a reg¬istered historic park and in¬cludes a number of specimen beech, oak, lime and lebanon cedar trees,” aforesaid the agents.

“There are also a sequence of historic architectural and archaeological characteristics including the Mount, which encompasses the Grotto and Ice house, the former Cockpit and Iron Age earthworks which are designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

“The lake extends to approximately 17 acres and provides a stunning backdrop.”
No public rights of way across the land and the estate are described as perfect for someone who enjoys privacy and history.

The portion of the University Corners building so as to houses Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 is sale for $8.5 million.

NAI Commercial Partners Inc., a commercial real estatefirm based in Lancaster, advertised the asset in downtown Wilkes-Barre for sale online. More than 7,400 square feet of empty space on two floors at 44 E. Northampton St. also is for sale or lease.The sale ad comes after Bill Geary, president of California-based Carlsberg Management Co. registered for personal bankruptcy in Los Angeles in late May, indicating he had nearly $40 million in debt and $724,984 in assets.

Carlsberg Management Co. has controlled 75 percent of the complex since 2008. The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry keeps ownership of 25 percent of the property.

When inquired about the sale ad, Geary said, “We just want to see where the market is right now.”

Signs on the complex advertise office/retail space for hire and that University Corners is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which offers tax benefit. The signs list Geary’s name and number. Other signs list a number for NAI Commercial Partners.

“We’ve had quite a few people consider it,” said Matthew Bellis, a realtor for NAI Commercial Partners. “We’ve been aiming restaurants and retail. We don’t have any offers as of yet, but we have experienced a great amount of interest in the property.”

R/C Theatres will stay as its rent runs through 2026, Bellis said. At about 77,000 square feet, the theaters occupy the biggest leased space in the 150,000-square-foot University Corners.

“The theatre is very successful. It does very well and was warmly covered by the community,” Bellis said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind great asset to the local downtown, which can be a flourishing and comfortable area.”

The $31 million movie theater complex opened in 2006 with a mixture of public and chamber funds. Construction workers spent 18 months transforming five bedraggled buildings and a vacant lot into the massive complex.

The investment left the South Main Street Redevelopment group, which consists of Carlsberg Management Co. and the chamber, with approximately $8.5 million in bank debt.

Selling the division of the complex that houses Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 “would decrease the debt on the balance of the project, which is the reason why Mr. Geary decided to investigate the market at this time,” said Larry Newman, vice president of planning, policy and development for the chamber.

“Movies 14 continue to do very well, with more than 500,000 patrons again visiting the cinemas last year,” Newman said.

A sale would not bear on the 21 loft apartments in the University Corners complex.