Courtown, Co Wexford, is the location for a new scheme of three-bedroom homes aimed at the first-time buyers' market. Agents Hooke & MacDonald are this weekend launching Riverchapel Court, a development of semi-detached bungalows and houses priced from £79,950.

Little more than an hour's drive from Dublin, and five miles from Gorey, Courtown has long been a popular seaside destination and is now finding broad appeal with a new generation of first-time buyers. The completion of the Arklow bypass reduces commuting time from Dublin and makes the area more accessible for people working in the Dublin area. The Gorey by-pass is also due to be completed in the next two years.

Riverchapel Court should see keen interest, given that all houses qualify for the £3,000 first time buyers grant and are exempt from stamp duty for owner occupiers. The development will comprise 30 houses - 10 three-bedroom semi-detached, cottage-style bungalows and 20 semi-detached two-storey houses - laid out around an open landscaped area. Each of the houses in Riverchapel Court has a garden with a patio area, a fully fitted kitchen and fitted wardrobes. Apart from first-time buyers this development may also interest owner-occupiers trading down and looking to move out of the Dublin area, or as weekend or holiday homes. Stamp duty of 9 per cent is payable on second homes.

North Wexford has seen a lot of development in recent times as the Dublin commuter belt expands and this area still offers good value for money. Starter homes in Mullingar, Drogheda and areas of Kildare average around £120,000.

Riverchapel Court is the second phase of development at this site - the same builders, Pat Neville Developments, completed a scheme of holiday homes there last year. Riverchapel View is a mixed development of 101 two and three-bedroom bungalows with two tennis courts and a play area on the site.

Originally aimed at the holiday home market, Riverchapel View also attracted strong interest from first-time buyers and from couples trading down, and now there is a mixture of owner-occupiers and weekend residents living there.

The north Wexford area has some of the best-kept and safest beaches in Ireland. As a busy seaside town there is a great variety of leisure facilities available in the area, including good restaurants and night life. The new Courtown Forest Leisure Park is under construction and is due to open next summer with a full range of health and fitness facilities, including a 25m swimming pool.

Show houses will be on view at Riverchapel Court on Saturday and Sunday from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.