Commuter-belt launch drawing local interest
BAR Leixlip, there isn’t really a commuter belt area that can claim to come close to Maynooth in terms of attractiveness and amenities. So much so that Carton Wood, a new development that launched yesterday, saw the majority of pre-launch interest coming from locals, rather than Dubliners contemplating a move.
“Interest so far is predominantly from local people,” says selling agent Gavan Ryan of Savills. “Maynooth is obviously a strong town and people who are from the area want to stay close to it,” he continues, explaining that people who ‘can’ afford to live in Dublin still choose to be in Maynooth ‘because they love the area’.
“The initial logging of interest through our own office and Savills’ would mostly be, if you put a compass at Tesco, within a radius of three or four kilometres, and bring that compass around in a circle, that’s predominantly where our demographic seems to be coming from,” adds the developer behind this launch, Anthony Neville.
The development, which offers a mixture of starter and trade-up properties, brings eight house types to the market, including three-, four- and five-bed homes, from 97.3sqm to 186sqm. Predominantly, the scheme is made up of three-bedroom semi-detached units from 117.4sqm, from €345,000, and four-bedroom semi-detached units, from 134sqm, from €395,000, with some three-bedroom mid-terraces, from 97.3sqm, from €295,000, and some detached four-bed from 135sqm, from €460,000, and five-beds, from 186sqm, from €505,000.
In all, 24 houses will be offered in this first phase. Designed by McCrossan O’Rourke Manning Architects, the front elevations are a mixture of brick, render and zinc detailing, lending the properties quite a traditional effect. Gardens are spacious, with some of the corner houses enjoying particularly large plots. The downstairs rooms have nine-foot ceilings, lending a roomy quality. A park area will run adjacent to the site, which will eventually include recreational areas, including walking tracks and playing fields. This is adjacent to the picturesque Carton Avenue. The site itself is roughly 950m from the main street, so Maynooth’s numerous amenities and travel links are easily accessible.
Anecdotally, Savills’ New Homes department reports that they have found that some first-time buyers are viewing the Government’s Help-to-Buy scheme as a bonus that will give them the ability to fit our their new home to a higher than anticipated standard, as well as fully furnish the house.
In this case, these homes come with a generous specification. All the downstairs floor tiling through the hall, kitchen, utility and ground-floor bathroom is included, as is the carpet in the sitting room, stairs, landing and all bedrooms. For an additional fee, buyers can opt to future-proof the attic, giving the potential to add on an extra bedroom.
“There is a substantial amount of flexibility within our specification,” says Neville, explaining that early purchasers can, in the case of the kitchen, wardrobes and fireplace, choose to either up-spec on the existing offering, staying with the chosen supplier, or take the allowance and go with a different supplier altogether. “I will preface that that does need to be there prior to roofs going on houses. We can’t accommodate that sort of versatility on houses that have been plastered,” he points out.
Price: Three-, four- and five-beds from €295,000 to €505,000 Viewing: Today, 12-2pm Agent: Savills (01) 618 1754