Starter homes turn on the style

Swords: from €238,000 The increased supply of starter homes now reaching the market in the Dublin area has allowed first-time buyers to become a little more choosy when it comes to location, price and quality of the completed homes.

This should be good news for the MKN Property Group, which is today releasing the final phase of The Oaks and their well-located Ridgewood development at Forrest Road in Swords. Previous releases have always sold out within days.

Joint agents Hooke & MacDonald and Morton & Flanagan will be staffing showunits at the site where visitors will get an immediate impression of maturity, open space and attention to detail. Of the 19 new homes going for sale, some will be two-bedroom apartments with 66 sq m (710 sq ft) costing from €238,000. There will also be two-bedroom townhouses with 71.5 sq m (770 sq ft) priced from €259,500 and three-bedroom townhouses of 91.5 sq m (985 sq ft) from €310,000.

The latest phase is close to the tree-lined entrance where a new Tesco Express convenience store is opening along with a McCabe Pharmacy, a medical centre and a crèche.

Ridgewood has benefited from its proximity to Swords, where The Pavilion Shopping Centre offers a great variety of shopping, and where there is a good choice of bars and restaurant. Swords is also home to a range of international companies.

The layout by Fenton Simons has worked exceptionally well, with the different house types built in enclaves. This has reduced traffic levels and made the area quieter, as well as safer for children.

The three-bedroom townhouse, with its entrance at the gable end, is a practical and stylish home. The combined kitchen/breakfastroom to the left off the entrance hall is bright and has two windows and large French doors opening into a private garden.

The livingroom at the other side of the hall is impressive and has fitted shelving, ideal for a work station.

Upstairs the main bedroom comes with an en suite and there is also a beautifully fitted main bathroom.

All the homes are heated by gas central heating, and there is an open fireplace in the livingroom. There is a guest toilet off the hall.

The two-bedroom showhouse, like the other units, is full of light and atmosphere. There is a combined kitchen/breakfastroom at the front entrance hall leading past a downstairs to a excellent livingroom. It has an open gas fire and French doors opening to the rear garden.