February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Irish are on a home-buying spree here — and it shows no signs of slowing anytime soon, keeping pace with the brisk Manhattan real estate market.
When the news broke last month that Irish buyers had managed to snap up a whopping 142 units in the 300-unit Centria — a yet-to-be constructed 35-story glass-encased luxury high-rise located across from Midtown Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center — it was clear that this was no fleeting trend.
The last year has seen a steady growth of Irish buyers in the Manhattan real estate market, according to Sheila McCarthy, a broker with the Corcoran Group.
“The appeal for Irish investors is overwhelmingly Manhattan,” McCarthy said. “It is the capital city of the world and the Irish feel very comfortable and at home in New York.”
And perhaps most important, “the Irish investor… has the means and the savvy to enjoy all New York has to offer.”
The euro is beginning to burn a hole in wealthy Irish pockets, and the rush is to put them into real estate dollars, a diverse investment.
McCarthy, who is representing six Irish buyers at the moment, told of one client that is sinking his pension fund into a Manhattan property.
He feels “long-term, it will only go up more so,” than traditional investments.
Amazingly, the Centria, which only stands two stories of wood and minor concrete work at press time, was sold to the Irish buyers entirely based on composites and floorplans, something that is becoming increasingly common in New York’s heated market.
The building will be the first luxury condo development in Rockefeller Center, an area already built up. The mid-block site is another rarity, as many newer developments are situated on corners and on larger lots. This squeeze shows how serious buyers and builders are.
Either as a pied-