Renowned for its fashionable villages and leafy avenues lined with imposing redbricks, Dublin 6 is one of the capital’s most expensive addresses.
A budget of €700,000 may not buy a huge amount of space in the most desirable areas of Dublin 6; even throughout the recession this suburb fared well compared to less central suburban areas, proving that location, location, location is still a top priority for buyers.
6 Chelmsford Avenue, Ranelagh Agent: Felicity Fox; Asking price: €695,000; 112sq m (1,206sq ft)
The most expensive of these three properties, No 6 last sold in 2003 for €664,000 and comes to the market this time around in pristine condition throughout, having been thoroughly updated by the current owners. Located no more than a three-minute walk from Ranelagh village, and bordering the area’s most prestigious address, Leeson Park, the property is extremely well situated. Like many properties in the area, though, this house doesn’t have off-street parking, although on-street permit parking is available.
The open-plan kitchen, dining and living room that spans the entire first floor is a real selling point. Downstairs, there is a master suite with walk-in-wardrobe and en suite shower room, along with two further bedrooms and bathroom. All of the bedrooms are nicely decorated, and the main bathroom, while noticeably less recently updated, is perfectly fine. The low-maintenance rear garden is laid out in a mixture of stone slabs and wood decking and has a south-westerly orientation; however, the neighbouring house directly at the end of the garden (7 Chelmsford Avenue) is likely to block a significant amount of sunlight. That house sold this year for €350,000, but it was smaller at about 800sq ft, required renovation and had a limited garden space.
'Tara', 26 Oakley Road, Ranelagh Agents: Lisney ; Asking price: €600,000; 96sq m (1,033sq ft)
“Tara” was built around 1989 and marketed at the time at £97,500 with Lisney. Twenty-five years later, Lisney has been instructed to sell the former Section 23 house once again. Enviably positioned just off Ranelagh’s Dunville Avenue, home to the much-loved Morton’s grocery shop among other boutique shops and cafes, the home is just a one-minute walk from Beechwood Luas station.
While the small terrace is relatively new, the houses are a pastiche of similar-sized Dublin 6 period properties. To the front of the house there is off-street parking along with some shrubbery and side access to the rear garden. But the property’s current facade is unnecessarily unattractive, and potential buyers need look no further for inspiration than the two identical neighbouring properties whose owners have vastly improved their curb appeal by removing the front porch and changing the colour of the rather unattractive white windows, gutters and cement window ledges.
The living accommodation is well proportioned, though it requires redecoration throughout. On the ground floor there is a kitchen to the front and a good-sized sitting room to the rear, leading to the sunroom and garden. It is difficult to imagine the next owner keeping the existing sunroom, and it’s like this will either be replaced with a more sturdy extension or perhaps removed entirely in order to provide an even larger garden. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with en suite bathroom, a separate family bathroom and two further bedrooms.
There is real potential here for buyers to redesign the house to their tastes and to reconfigure and extend the downstairs living space to meet their needs. The house will go under the hammer on Wednesday, October 22nd.
7 Wesley Road, Rathgar Agents: DNG Terenure; Asking price: €650,000; 124sq m (1,340sq ft)
Wesley Road is a narrow street located right in the heart of Rathgar village, yet sufficiently far from the busy Rathgar Road to give it a relative sense of calm. While there is only a small garden area to the front of the property, on-street permit parking is also a possibility here.
Inside the attractive light-filled house, it is clear that the owners have upgraded the home from details such as the stripped-back floors and the vertical radiators, while still maintaining numerous period features. The layout of the house is very much typical, with two lovely interconnecting reception rooms that lead out to the compact north-facing rear garden and a galley kitchen spanning the entire left side of the garden. Off the kitchen there is a downstairs wet room and while its location is far from ideal, this situation is common in houses of this era where there was usually just one one family bathroom serving the entire house.
On the first floor there are two nice double bedrooms with original fireplaces and the family bathroom. The third and largest bedroom is on the second floor. Earlier this summer, a very similar property in good condition at 18 Wesley Road sold for €665,000, although this had a larger, south-facing garden.
