Few towns outside Dublin epitomise the current housing boom as much as Navan. A whole range of housing developments are under way and most of them are selling well - despite a chaotic road system that chokes the town for most of the daylight hours.

Dublin commuters looking for a new home in the distinctive Canterbrook scheme, which is being launched this weekend on the Trim road, will have the advantage of being able to bypass the town. There is a handy link road from the Trim road on to the Dublin road. A second road is due to open over the next few years as part of an overall review of the road network.

The Canterbrook houses are being built on a 76-acre former stud farm within easy walking distance of the town centre. Developer McAleer & Rushe, which has been associated with a number of landmark schemes in Dublin, including Blackrock Garda Station and the adjoining TSB Bank headquarters, have raised the odds in Navan by offering a particularly good range of houses that will be hard to beat in either quality or price.

Thirty units are being released in the first phase, with three-bedroom semis priced at £113,500. Four-bed semis are going for £129,750, with four-bed detached units at £150,000 and five-bedroom detached homes at £185,000.

Local estate agents Smith, expect that Dublin commuters will be well represented among the buyers, along with Meath-based first-time buyers and families who are trading up from smaller houses in the area.

All the houses are built with double-leaf cavity walls and insulation. Internally, the developers have not skimped on anything. There is a high specification fit out and lots of extras, such as utility rooms and integrated garages with all houses including the three-bed semis. In most cases, buyers are likely to convert garages into an extra livingroom.

The top of the range five-bedroom detached houses are particularly spacious, with no less than 1,900 sq ft, including two reception rooms, a study and a sun lounge. Similar sun lounges in other house types will cost an extra £15,000. There is a terrific kitchen, which doubles as a breakfastroom and a spacious rear garden with a high surrounding wall. Two of the five bedrooms have en suite shower rooms.

The four-bedroom detached homes have a floor area of 1,343 sq ft and, at £150,000, cost virtually the same as many of the much smaller three-bed semis which are now going for sale in the Dublin suburbs.

The Navan houses have two interlinking reception rooms and double glass doors leading into an excellent kitchen. The utility room off the kitchen is larger than usual and it has a door into the garage.

The three-bedroom and four-bedroom semis have separate livingrooms and diningrooms and good-sized kitchen/dining areas. The four-bed units have a floor area of 1,292 sq ft, while the starter homes have 1,025 sq ft.

Buyers will be able to select fireplaces and wall decoration to their own liking.