Big family homes in Mount Merrion are perennially popular, not least because they are close to the city and beside the green open spaces of UCD's Belfield campus and the Deerpark.
Number 33 North Avenue - a 1,615 sq ft four-bedroom semi-detached house in top condition - has come on the market with an asking price of £500,000 (634,870) by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald.
A similar North Avenue house in excellent order sold this time last year for £540,000 (685,660), evidence of the current realism in sought-after parts of the city. The owners of number 33 have completely revamped the house since they moved in nine years ago.
They insulated the attic, installed a new boiler, a smart pine kitchen and modern bathrooms and upgraded the alarm system. The long walled back garden is a huge draw, with a "bowling green" lawn bordered by colourful shrubberies.
The 1950s house is set well back from this busy tree-lined road, with a deep front porch. Two interconnecting reception rooms are equally proportioned, with matching painted fireplaces. The diningroom walls are muted cream, while the sittingroom has been decorated in warm raspberry tones. A spacious guest bathroom is tucked off the front hall. At the back of the house is a neat breakfastroom which links with the pine kitchen. An integral garage adjoining the kitchen and breakfastroom could be knocked through to create a very large family living/dining area.
Upstairs, two of the bedrooms are doubles and two are good-sized single rooms. There is also a small study and a family bathroom with up-to-the-minute fittings.
The south-facing garden is large, private and well manicured. French doors from the sittingroom open to a stone terrace. The front is in lawn, with a curved driveway and parking for a couple of cars.
