IT’S NOT often you hear Nama being described as an “effective marketing tool”, but this was how Sherry FitzGerald described it when 17 of 18 luxury homes at Loughmore Square at Killeen Castle in Co Meath went sale agreed within days last week.

They came on the market in the first phase of Nama’s deferred payment initiative, with a haircut from the launch price of up to 80 per cent in some cases.

The homes, built in 2008 by Joe O’Reilly of Castlethorn Homes, were envisaged as investment holiday or weekend homes.

According to the delighted Sherry Fitz selling agent there was little sign of those investors this week, with the houses going instead to cash-rich buyers who were watching the prices fall and who were planning to live there.

“Most of the deals were done in the first hour on the day of the view, and the Nama 80/20 scheme had a minimal impact.”

Two buyers who are likely to get their value for money include a professional golfer and a professional caddy.

They will no doubt avail of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Killeen Castle golf course on their doorstep.

Other new owners apparently include young single women, a retired farmer and someone planning to divide their time between here and warmer climes. One of the three expansive 6,000-plus sq ft five-bed homes sold to a local businessman planning to live there. It originally went on the market for more than €4 million and was seeking €1.2 million after last week’s relaunch.

Goes to show, nothing piques the interest quite like a Nama property.