Starter home prices within easy commuting distance of Dublin city are continuing to rise, with an increasing number of developers pitching prices over £150,000 for three-bed semis.
The particularly strong demand for houses in Swords, Co Dublin, is expected to lead to an early sell-out of the first 51 houses in a new development being launched today by Kingscroft Developments. Three-bedroom semis with 1,113 sq ft are to cost from £156,995. Plans for the Sandford Wood houses can be viewed at the offices of selling agent Ross McParland from today and showhouses will be on view from April, when part of the first phase will be ready for occupation. The entire scheme of 139 units will be completed by spring 2001.
The Swords location has proved a winner for previous developments. Buyers queued overnight earlier this year to put down deposits at nearby Swords Demesne and the initial phase was sold out within days.
At the Sandford Wood scheme, curved streetscapes will be complemented by the use of a variety of brick tones in the houses to avoid the uniform look of many new estates.
There will be a good range of standard features, including classic-style fireplaces, wall tiling in kitchen and bathrooms, and timber bath panels. Internal doors will have ornate brass fittings. Designs for the three-bedroom semi-detached houses costing from £156,995 have an all-brick frontage with a decorative brick soldier course and two-storey box bay front windows.
The internal layout is traditional, with a downstairs lavatory, plumbed utility room off the hallway and interconnecting sitting and diningrooms separated by double doors.
There will be a generous-sized kitchen/ breakfastroom with Shaker-style maple units and sliding doors to the garden. Standard wall tiling in the kitchen, bathroom and en suite is colour co-ordinated. Upstairs, there will be two double bedrooms and one single, with the main bedroom en suite, and the family bathroom.
The four-bedroom semis of 1,265 sq ft are priced from £171,995 and will appeal to families trading up. These have the same internal layout as the three-bedroom houses, although they are more spacious. Of the four bedrooms upstairs, two are doubles and two singles; the main bedroom has an en suite.
Detached four-bedroom houses of 1,326 sq ft start at £214,995. These are of a different design, with porched side entrances and double bay windows. All the downstairs rooms open off the square-shaped hallway, which has a lavatory off it. There will be a large sittingroom, separate diningroom and a family-sized kitchen/ breakfastroom with maple units. Two double bedrooms, two singles and the family bathroom open off a large landing; again, the main bedroom is en suite. Gardens will be seeded to the front and back with a patio area and outside tap. The development will have four separate landscaped green areas.
