Househunters used to be divided between those who wouldn't be seen dead buying a new house, and those who much prefer the convenience of a brand new home. These days, things are not so cut and dried. High levels of stamp duty on old houses - up to nine per cent for houses over £500,000 - have persuaded many to look at new developments. The rising cost of renovation is another daunting factor for buyers of old houses.
Housebuilders are now trying to woo high-income buyers who usually buy period houses. They are taking note of the craftsmanship of Victorian and Edwardian houses and some are building replica period houses but with all the mod cons.
It's becoming harder to choose between new and old, with both having definite advantages. Old houses have a rarity factor that can translate into good investment sense. However, they can be difficult to heat and they can soak money in on-going renovations, while a new house with a 10-year guarantee will be easy and economical to heat and relatively trouble-free.
"There are still people who wouldn't contemplate buying a new house - no matter how well it's done," says Simon Ensor of Sherry FitzGerald, "But there is a growing number who are only delighted to buy a new house with all the elegance of a bygone era without worrying about rising damp."
Take these two houses within a stone's throw of each other in Terenure and Rathfarnham. One is a Stringer-built five-bedroom semi from the 1920s on Rathfarnham Road with a pre-auction guide price of £700,000; the other a new five-bedroom detached house with all the looks of a period house off Butterfield Avenue, Rathfarnham. It has a price tag of £1 million.
The new house copies the Stringer style. It has a verandah porch and a large back garden and is being sold fully furnished. One of the showhouses in the Charleville Square scheme, it is finished down to the last detail, including topiary hedges. Three of the bedrooms have en suite shower rooms with power showers and there is a Jacuzzi bath in the main en suite.
The downside is that although well done, the landscaping will take some years to reach the leafy privacy of a more mature estate. While the house has a good sized back garden, the front will face a four-storey block that has not yet been built.
Stamp duty, which is based on the value of the site, is £12,000.
Selling agent Eoin O'Neill of Ross McParland has no doubt it is better than an old house. "Old houses, even when renovated, don't work so well because of design issues. The flow is better in new houses and day-to-day running is easier," he says.
Pat Mullery of Douglas Newman Good, who is selling the Stringer-built Terenure house, disagrees.
"The drawback of new estate houses is the likelihood of apartments and cheaper houses being built beside you. If you are paying a lot of money for a house, you expect to be among houses of similar value."
The Terenure period house is set well back on Rathfarnham Road, close to Terenure village. It's a large, well-maintained family house with wide bay windows and timbered gables. The rooms are beautifully-proportioned. The deep, curved ceiling cornicing and original mahogany mantelpiece are typical of the period and the staircase is wide.
The owners have put their own stamp on the house - a fully-equipped bar in the converted garage is one of their more modern additions. They've replaced the original windows with uPVC - period house fans will be horrified but many buyers will welcome the convenience.
One of the original five bedrooms has been turned into a luxurious marble-tiled bathroom off the main bedroom, with a Jacuzzi bath and separate power shower. The big pine country kitchen has an Aga. The gardens are large, private and filled with fruit trees and flowering shrubs.
Stamp duty on the guide price of £700,000 will be a hefty £63,000.
