A development site near one of Northern Ireland’s racecourses proved a big attraction to punters in the building industry.

The site, directly opposite the entrance to Down Royal Racecourse, was bought by a local builder for £745,000, well ahead of the guide price of £525,000, as bidding at the auction reached fever pitch.

Stephen Davey of property consultants and auctioneers Lisney said: “With the site extending to 0.8 of an acre, the final sale reflects a price of £930,000 per acre, which is considerably more than the previous record within the area of £600,000 per acre which was set in 2004.

“Benefiting from full planning permission and set in a prestigious location, we expected the sale to generate considerable interest. However we were delighted to achieve a record price for our client, reinforcing the suitability of an auction sale for this type of development property.”

The site at 55 Gravelhill Road, Maze, currently contains a single-storey cottage and has full planning permission for five detached dwellings of approximately 1750 sq ft each. Building work is expected to begin immediately.

Mr Davey added: “This sale follows a trend of similar auction success stories where Lisney has achieved record prices in Lisburn, Lurgan and Belfast, and we recommend that anyone contemplating selling a portion of potential development land should consider the merits of an auction sale.”

Posted: 08|24|05 at 5:36 pm. Filed under: Property & Land.