First-time buyers stand to benefit from the price cutting now emerging in the starter homes sector in west Dublin where 5,500 homes are under construction in three separate schemes. Tyrrelstown upped the odds last week when they launched the first phase of what will be a gigantic scheme at prices that made other builders sit up and take notice. Prices like £99,950 and £119,000 (€126.910/€151,100) for one and two-bedroom apartments haven't been seen for quite some time. Not surprisingly, the four developers involved sold all 109 one, two, three and four-bed homes released.

The main competition for Tyrrelstown is coming from the wooded Ongar estate near Clonee where around 1,500 homes are being built by Manor Park Homes (they sold 120 in the last two weeks) and Menolly Homes. This weekend Menolly is turning on the pressure again by launching large one-beds (613 sq ft) at £107,950 (€137,070) and two-beds (765 sq ft) from £120,950 (€153,570). However, the two companies building 1,500 new homes in the grounds of Blanchardstown Hospital say they won't be dropping prices especially as sales are still running strongly.