Is there life in the market for housing sites in the greater Dublin area? As it becomes increasingly difficult to source good-sized family homes in south Dublin and in the more expensive northside suburbs, signs are emerging of renewed activity in the new homes sector. Builders keeping a close eye out will have noted that a housing site at Sallins Road in Naas which appeared stuck at €800,000 ended up making over €1.3m when it sold through DTZ Sherry FitzGerald and Naas agent Sherry FitzGerald O’Reilly.

The 6.45 acres, with planning permission for 41 three- and four-bedroom homes, was finally bought by the little known Aranbel Construction run by Liam Monsey.

The happy vendors were none other than Tesco who originally sought permission to locate a giant-sized supermarket on the site but after running into planning difficulties managed to find an alternative piece of land closer to Naas.

To ensure they got the best possible price for the unwanted site, Tesco persuaded the planners to approve a relatively high housing density – exactly what builders dream about.

The successful sale was also helped by the fact that it coincided with an announcement from Kerry Group that it is to spend €100m on developing a new food plant on the nearby Millennium Park.

So it looks like nobody will go hungry in Naas . . .