The Skerries Rock development on the outskirts of the north Dublin seaside town is typical of several new housing developments where prices have increased sharply in the last two years.
When the scheme was begun in January 1997, three-bedroom semis were sold at £80,000, but by the following October the price had gone to just under £102,000, an increase of over £20,000.
The final phase of the 300-house scheme was begun two months ago, and by then three-bedroom units were costing between £116,950 and £121,950.
Skerries Rock was not the only development to experience rapid price increases.
Near Castleknock in west Dublin, new three-bedroom semis in the Riverwood development on Carpenterstown Road sold in June 1996 at around £85,000. In the latest phase of this scheme, the same house is now making £135,000. Four-bedroom semis which originally sold for £95,000 have risen by an even greater margin to £150,000.
The practice of releasing houses on a phased basis has allowed developers to cash in on a rising market and the shortage of new homes.
