The National Asset Management Agency of Ireland is in the process of preparing the sale of EUR300 million or USD408 million worth of Irish real estate loans. This comes as demand from overseas buyers increases, according to three people with knowledge of the said plan.
NAMA was created in 2009 by the Irish government as a means to absorb EUR74 billion worth of risky commercial real estate loans in the possession of Irish banks. The plan was to have these loans sold off within a specific ten year period.
The loans are attached to properties developed by McGarrell Realty Group. The loans would be sold at a discount. This was confirmed by the sources who sought anonymity as the matter remains private. NAMA spokesperson Ray Gordon, who also works for public relations firm Gordon MRM and McGarell Reilly executive chairman Sean Reilly both declined to make a comment on the matter.
International investors have been investing in the Dublin real estate market as the Irish capital's market rebounds after the country's real estate crash. As much as 70% of the EUR545 million income generating properties were sold in Ireland last year. According to CBRE Group Inc, this was a great increase as the 2007 market had little or no sales at all.
According to the Irish Independent in a report done last May, Reilly was attempting to repurchase the loans at a discount from NAMA. The report did not disclose the source of the information.
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