The Associated Press published a list of financial disclosures for 2007 of senior US politicians over the weeked. One filing caught my eye – Senator Christopher Dodd declared a cottage (which he has owned for years) near Roundstone, and valued at between 100,000 and 250,000 US dollars (the politicians don’t have to specify an exact value – just a range). Now, if you’ve got a a quarter of a million dollars sitting in a bank account, and have always wanted a little bolt-hole in Roundstone, I’m afraid that I might have to dampen your enthusiasm.
Today, a dollar is worth 65 [euro] cent, making that 250,000 dollar nest-egg worth €165,500. So what does tha sum buy you near Roundstone ? Errmm – sod all, as it happens. A quick look through Daft.ie shows around 10 houses for sale, ranging from € 380,000 [$582,920] for a 2-bed apartment to €1,200,000 [$1,840,800] for an entire deserted village that comes with an interesting history.
Recession ? what recession ?
Update February 22, 2009. This newspaper article in the US ties the purchase of Senator Dodd’s cottage to some dubious real-estate dealings in the US (though it does refers to Roundstone as Roundtree). A quick check of Daft.ie shows that prices haven’t fallen much in the last year (even the deserted village is gone).