ONE OF Dublin's largest house builders Cosgraves has changed tack now that the new homes market has run into a bit of turbulence.

The brothers originally planned to sell all 280 apartments in their newly completed Lansdowne Gate, off Longmile Road in Drimnagh, Dublin 12, but once the market ran into trouble the brothers opted instead to lease the homes. The huge demand for them has taken the brothers by surprise.

Siobhan Costello of Hooke & MacDonald has let 180 of the units since around Christmas and says the demand is continuing for them as soon as they are fitted out. One-beds are fetching from €1,200 per month, two-beds are making from €1,350 to €1,450 while three-beds are making €1,700 per month.

Most of the demand has come from doctors and nurses in the Coombe and Crumlin hospitals. Ken MacDonald says he won't be surprised to see more developers following the example of Cosgraves - something that is quite common on the Continent.