An optimistic return to Main Street
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| Appleton directors Austin and Gillian Egan, with (seated) office manager Deirdre Egan. |
"The traffic noise is the same, and also the way people passing by will drop in to say hello and wish us well," he says. "That's the kind of thing that makes a small town like Kilcullen so special — in a larger town, people would pay less attention to a new business opening unless they had a need for the service."
Austin has operated Appleton Property Services with his wife Gillian since they set it up in 2010, prior to which he had worked for 13 years in both the property and insurance sectors. The area had always been his interest. "When I completed my CAO form, my first choice was the Auctioneering programme in Bolton St DIT. At school I liked technical drawing and art, I was interested in the built environment, so I was drawn to Bolton Street, which had quite a big department dealing with property, including auctioneering, geosurveying, architecture and construction management. I got my first choice, and graduated in 1997."
A decade working with established auctioneering and property firms in Dublin followed, after which Austin gained an insurance qualification and stepped out on his own with that for a time. "Insurance and auctioneering are allied businesses, qualifications overlap and they are similarly regulated now. With the establishment of the Property Services Regulatory Authority, there are now four categories related to property service providers, and we have the licences for all four."
These categories are Auction of Property other than Land, Purchase/Sale of Land by whatever means, Letting of Land, and Property Management Services. In addition, Austin is one of the first 50 members of the Institute of Professional Auctiononeers and Valuers in the country to do a course of study on a new Europe-wide qualification for valuation of property. This is in preparation for pending EU directives dealing with property valuation, and will be known as a RVE or Recognised European Valuer.
Working from their home in Old Kilcullen, Austin and Gillian concentrated on the property management and property letting in the post-boom environment where sales of property were significantly suppressed. But they were keeping an eye out for a town location. "We were waiting for the time to be right, and the place to be right. This premises came up at a time when property sales are beginning to take a lift, and it has already proved to be a very good stand, even better than we expected."
That's not least because it is in a part of town where traffic slows, especially at peak times, and motorists have time to notice Appleton. But Austin says there's also a surprisingly busy pedestrian footfall. All of which he hopes will underpin a growth in business as the property environment improves. "It's generally accepted now that the situation has bottomed out. If finance can be opened up a bit — and it has in some areas already — there's still an appetite for home ownership out there which hasn't been suppressed in any way."
He also cites as evidence that things have reached their nadir by the fact that this year there has been a growth of investors in the house-buying market, finally taking advantage of the lower prices for residential property. "Quite a proportion of the sales which have taken place this year have been from cash buyers, and in numbers. They weren't buying last year or the year before."
The Appleton Property area takes in Newbridge and Naas, goes as far south as Carlow and Portlaoise, and touches the southern parts of Dublin suburbs. Austin sees further scope for growth in the local area, partly because of its proximity to Dublin. "Although Kilcullen is in the sector outside the capital, because it's less than an hour's drive into the city, we can actually pick up on the lift in business in Dublin."
It doesn't have to be directly from the city, either. There's already a high demand for property in Newbridge and Naas, and Kilcullen is closely associated with both towns in that respect. There's scope for further growth in Kilcullen, and land is zoned already to gain from that. Meantime, Appleton Property intend to build on their already significant business in property management while taking advantage of any lift in property sales and lettings. The agricultural land business is also in focus. "Land values are up around Kilcullen, which is a healthy sign."
Managing an auctioneering and property sales business has changed enormously even since Austin Egan qualified in 1997. "At that time we were very much pre-internet and digital camera use in the business, but now most of the activity in any office is online. The time it takes from looking at a property to having it properly listed is much shorter, and we can do most of the work involved ourselves without having to wait for third-party suppliers. It means we can handle more business in a given time."
Whether there will be that much more business in the medium term will depend on factors outside Appleton's control. And even outside the country's control. But Austin Egan is optimistic. "Just as we were affected by what happened elsewhere to bring us down, a lot of what happens next will depend on what's happening in Europe. There are some encouraging signs out there already. Here at home, as finance continues to loosen up, we should see a moderate sustainable growth that people would be content with, and this year and in the coming years we will see the market continue its return to a properly functioning market"
Appleton Property opening up on Main Street is a local reflection of that kind of optimism, which is itself necessary for a return to better times.
(This article was first published in The Kildare Nationalist.)
