Commuters focus on Kildare
This week sees the launch of two new developments in Kildare, writes Liadan Hynes
WITH rising prices in both sales and rental sectors pushing many buyers out of the Dublin market, potential purchasers in the commuter belt have been quick off the mark this year, with buyers focused from the get-go, agents report.
A recent survey revealed that commuters are increasingly willing to contemplate travel distances of almost 100km, with Laois, Carlow and Wexford seeing interest from buyers.
This weekend sees two launches in the Kildare area. Savills brings Bellingsfield to the market, adjacent to the now sold-out Piper’s Hill (117 units) just outside Naas, while Sherry FitzGerald Reilly launched Hawthorn Manor yesterday.
According to the Daft.ie house price report for Q4 2017, the average cost of a house in Kildare for that period was €250,034, with the average asking price of a three-bedroom semi-detached house €194,000 — all of which means that, on average, Kildare is more expensive than Meath, but less expensive than Wicklow.
While three- and four-bedroom properties remain the most sought-after units by first-time buyers and trade-up purchasers, the two-bedroom unit is seeing an increase in popularity since the crash.
Both trade-down buyers, for whom the ease of a new home appeals, and first-time buyers, for whom the price point is an opportunity to get on the ladder, are showing interest in this product. Often the two-bedroom comes with two en suite bathrooms, a detail which appeals to those planning to let the second room.
Homes in Kildare tend to qualify for the Help to Buy scheme, another factor motivating buyers from Dublin. That said, agents report that interest is still weighted firmly towards buyers who have a connection with the area, rather than those from Dublin who are ‘area agnostic’.
For those buyers, local agent Will Coonan of Coonan Property, who next weekend launches a four-bedroom semi-detached showhouse at Moyglare Hall, Maynooth, says that priorities tend to be “size of the unit, infrastructure, accessibility to the city centre, and transport links. Depending on the buyer’s age, factors might be given varying precedence.
“So first-time buyers tend to be motivated by proximity to Dublin and accessibility to the city centre.”
Bellingsfield is the latest project from Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore Group. Like its sister site, Piper’s Hill, this new development is all threeand four-bedroom units, and ticks all the boxes for the trade-up or first-time buyer looking for a well-situated family home in the commuter belt.
This first phase brings a mixture of threeand four-bedroom semi-detached houses and four-bedroom detached, with sizes ranging between 120.6sqm and 163.4sqm. Three-bedroom properties start at €345,000, with four bedrooms from €385,000. Situated just beyond Naas, there are four schools locally, including Piper’s Hill Montessori at the site’s entrance. The M7 is 4.5km away. VIEWING: Today, 12-2pm AGENT: Savills (01) 618 1300
On the far side of the M7, Hawthorn Manor is situated at the edge of Coill Dubh village. This is a much smaller development, with 53 units, mostly three- and four-bedroom semi-detached and four-bedroom detached. The handful of two-bedroom units in this launch have already been reserved.
There are six house types, ranging from between 87sqm-174sqm. Three-bedroom semi-detached units start from €285,000, four-bedroom semi-detached from €305,000, and four-bedroom detached from €370,000.
Layout in the three- and four-bedroom units varies between separate kitchen and dining rooms, and open plan. Over half have future-proofed attics — second floor expansion is currently an optional extra, from approximately €25,000 – this would lend an extra 27sqm, enough for a bedroom, walk-in wardrobe, en suite and storage spaces.
The M50 is approximately 25 minutes away, the stop for a Bus Eireann service to Dublin is several minutes’ walk away. The train to Dublin runs from Sallins, 14km away. VIEWING: Today, 2-4pm AGENT: Sherry FitzGerald Reilly (045) 868 412
Also on the market in this area, is a development by Cairn at Elsmore, Naas, where joint agents REA Coonan and Hooke & MacDonald are selling a limited number of units off the plans, including three-bedroom townhouses c109sqm, from €285,000, four-bedroom townhouses, end-of-terrace c130sqm, from €340,000 and four-bedroom semi-detached units, c164 sqm, from €370,000. VIEWING: Selling off plans AGENT: Coonan Property (01) 628 6128