Thirty house hunters in Donegal queued overnight to buy new homes which went on sale yesterday morning.
The warmly-dressed buyers, queued for the 9 a.m. opening of the estate agent's office to snap up houses in the Brookfield Manor development, one and a half miles from Donegal town centre. Some had been queuing since 4 p.m. the previous day.
Four three-bedroom semis were offered for sale yesterday starting at €165,500. Four four-bed semis were priced at €175,500, and a three-bed detached home was priced at €185,000.
A four-bedroom detached house was offered at €195,000 and another four bedroom detached was priced at €220,000.
The 11 houses were offered for sale from the plans. Building on the first phase does not even start until later this month.
The developers also took deposits yesterday for the second phase of eight four-bed semis priced at €182,500 each and a detached four-bedroom house at €195,000.
Estate agent Mr Keith Anderson took the names of those who failed to get their name down for any of the first 19 homes.
People in the queue said they considered the homes a bargain at up to €10,000 below the rate being sought for houses of similar size in the area.
Dublin-born Mr Declan Moloney (32), who moved to Donegal when his parents returned there 20 years ago, was first in the queue.
Mr Moloney, a father of two, was joined by his wife, Marie, shortly before the estate agent's office opened. The family already have a three-bedroom terrace home but were hoping to upgrade to one of the four-bedroom houses.
"There is a huge demand in this town for good houses at affordable prices. There aren't enough being built," Mr Moloney said.
Ms Heather Dinsmore (30), a hairdresser from nearby Ballintra, swapped queuing duties with her fiancé, Mr Vincent Harrison (34), from Ballintogher, Co Sligo, an information technology manager with Magee clothing in Donegal town.
Both live in rented accommodation and were anxious to have their own home before marrying in November.
"It's very important for us to get a house we can afford. We were on the verge of buying another one but things got complicated and we were gazumped," Ms Dinsmore said.
Ms Shelley Leslie, a window dresser from Ballyshannon, recruited her boyfriend, Mr Paul Clerkin, and her sister, Helga, to share queuing shifts.
Schoolgirl Aneiska Scanlon (16), and her boyfriend, Niall Lynch, both from Strabane, 30 miles across the Border in Co Tyrone, were queuing to buy for her parents. She had a letter of instructions and a cheque for the €3,000 deposit.