Blackrock: €720,000It took nearly 60 years from the time they were built in the 1920s for the houses on Frascati Park in Blackrock, Co Dublin to rise to £50,000 in the mid-1980s. But it took less than another 20 years for one of them to tip the €1 million mark last year, although that was achieved for an exceptionally well refurbished house in a very good position on the road.
Lisney is quoting a guide price of €720,000 for 30 Frascati Park which goes to auction on March 23rd. This reflects the likelihood that, although the house is in generally good order with gas central heating, the next owners may want to follow the example of several recent buyers on the road and invest substantially in upgrading it.
Frascati Park is within walking distance of Blackrock village; located off the Blackrock end of Mount Merrion Avenue, it runs behind the Frascati Shopping Centre. Apart from a few more modern houses, it's a uniform collection of four-bedroom bay-windowed family homes, most with integral garages and period-style balconies overlooking the road.
Like many older residential roads in Dublin, the last 10 years have brought a wave of garage conversions and major renovation projects. Some owners have created much larger five-bedroom houses by building rear extensions and extending upwards into the attic spaces. All the houses have front gardens with drive-in car-parking and back gardens.
Downstairs, number 30 has two reception rooms with dividing doors between them. There is room for a table in the kitchen/breakfastroom and there is an adjoining utility room at the back of the house, but this accommodation is modest by modern standards, without any fitted kitchen units or worktops.
The garage has not been converted to living space.
Upstairs, there is a good-sized landing which is big enough for bookshelves, and there is a door to the outside balcony - a great evening suntrap. The bathroom and lavatory are separate, in the original style of these houses. Again, however, the fittings and finishes are comparatively modest. The main bedroom has the nice period touch of a fireplace.
The back garden is a good size and enjoys considerable privacy as a result of high hedging and mature trees. In essence, it is a comparatively affordable opportunity to buy a family house in the expensive Blackrock area on a road with a certain old-fashioned charm where neighbours still know each other and children still go from house-to-house to play.
