Although the second-hand homes market in Dublin has well and truly peaked there is still a lot of life left in the new homes sector.
Agents Ross McParland have logged more than 300 inquiries in the run up to today's launch of a new housing scheme in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. The high level of interest in Charleville Square is all the more interesting because the first houses being released at this stage are very definitely on the expensive side.
Jackson Properties, which has been quite adept at finding well located infill sites around the city - their last big scheme was at St John's Road in Sandymount - is taking bookings for 31 terraced and detached homes which are virtually completed at Butterfield Avenue, close to the centre of Rathfarnham.
Twenty-three of the homes are terraced three-storey units with significantly more floor space than usual. Three-bedroom mid-terrace units are priced from £380,000, four-bedroom end-of-terrace and semi-detached homes will cost from £450,000 while five-bedroom detached homes will be available from £660,000.
The main focus of attention for many visitors will probably be a single five-bedroom detached showhouse complete with furnishings which costs a cool £1 million.
Jackson Properties has planning permission for 67 houses around the perimeter of the former Hallmark Cards factory site which it bought a few years ago for around £6 million. Work has just begun on 144 two and three-bedroom apartments to be built in four blocks around a central courtyard. These are not expected to come on the market until next year.
The Edwardian verandah style porches and redbrick facades of the new houses replicate some of the distinctive features of a beautifully preserved Edwardian mansion at the front of the site. The new homes only have a fraction of the space, but they are still considerably bigger than houses in most new schemes. The three-bedroom mid-terrace units have 1,549 sq ft on three levels, including an interlinking livingroom and diningroom off a good-sized entrance hall. The livingroom recaptures a lot of the charm of Edwardian-style homes with its white marble fireplace (piped for gas) and two attractive casement windows looking out to the front.
There is a second set of double glazed doors leading into the kitchen/breakfast room which is wrapped around the back of the house. The area will obviously be used as a family room as well, because it catches so much daylight through two overhead Velux windows and two patio doors. However, for such a spacious house there is a surprisingly small back garden which is unlikely to impress parents with footballing sons and daughters.
Two of the three bedrooms on the first floor are doubles and the main one has the now conventional en suite shower room. All bedrooms have excellent wardrobes, none more so than the main bedroom, which has a fitted cherrywood unit. One of the attractions of these three-storey houses is the open plan room on the top floor which can be used for a variety of purposes - e.g., gym, study or playroom.
The four-bed house types have a fairly similar layout though with a total floor area of 1,781 sq ft, the extra space on each floor is immediately noticeable. One of the other advantages of these end houses is that the main bathroom has a window. They also have a walk-in hot press off the first floor landing. Prices for these homes start at £450,000.
Ross McParland is also taking bookings for seven five-bedroom three storey houses with a floor area of 2,375 sq ft and selling prices from £660,000. There's a small TV room on the right just inside the hall and behind it a terrific kitchen-cum-family room. It has an attractive range of cherrywood wall and floor units and polished granite worktops everywhere, including an island unit in the centre of the floor. Also off the hall there is a livingroom capable of holding a good-sized crowd. But if a large number of people stay to dinner, they are bound to feel a bit cramped in the smaller than expected diningroom. Their comfort is also likely to be affected by the fact that architects Frank Elmes have managed to squeeze no less than six doors into what is a relatively small room - double doors from both the livingroom and the kitchen, a single door from the same kitchen as well as the hall. Diners will have no problem in effecting a fast exit if that is called for.
Otherwise, the house is of luxuriously roomy proportions, making it ideal for a large family. There is a particularly fine main bedroom suite and best feature of all, a wonderful games room or gym at the top of the house complete with bathroom.
