Affordable co-op house on private market with 50% price hike

A three-bedroom house, built in 2018 as part of an affordable housing scheme for low- and middle-income workers in north Dublin, is for sale on the private market for increments of nearly 50 per cent.

The housing cooperative Ó The Cualann Cohousing Consortium has built ownership of 49 homes in Baile na Laochra in Ballymun at prices about 30 percent below market value.

At the time, this was the only open affordable housing scheme in the country, and then-Housing Secretary Eugan Murphy said the property was being used as a model for the development of a new state-subsidized housing scheme.

A three-bedroom house in Baile na Laochra, which Ó Cualann sold for 170,000 euros three years ago, has been put up in recent days with an indicative price of 250,000 euros. Unlike original buyers, potential buyers will not have to comply with any eligibility criteria for affordable housing.

Mortgage approval

To be eligible to purchase Ó Cualann homes in 2017 and 2018, single buyers had to have an income of less than 59,000 euros and a combined income of less than 79,000 euros for married couples. A 10 percent deposit is required, as is a mortgage approval for the remaining amount. Buyers also had to become members of the cooperative.