Handsome homes for people trading up

Families waiting to trade up to large new detached homes close to Dublin have had few opportunities of doing so over the past two years.

The scarcity at this end of the market will be eased somewhat when a development of four and five-bedroom detached houses goes on sale today at Ratoath village in Co Meath. The homes are within 17 miles of the city. Prices for the first 19 houses at The Old Mill scheme will range from £195,000 to £260,000.

With the development located only a mile or two from Fairyhouse racecourse, the Ross McParland agency is likely to be busy showing viewers around the four showhouses during the Easter festival meeting.

Apart altogether from the luxuriously roomy proportions of all four house types, experienced viewers are hardly likely to miss the point that they are considerably cheaper than anything else that has come on the market in the Dublin area in recent months. Average prices work out at £115 to £120 per sq ft - almost half the selling price of new detached homes in south Dublin. Another feature not likely to be missed by viewers is that all the houses have good-sized front and rear gardens, being built at a density of 4.3 to the acre - about half the density level in Dublin.

With the Government now about to open the flood gates to allow builders to virtually double density rates in built-up areas, developers are already seeking revised planning to enable more houses to be packed into sites.

Architects O'Mahony Pike have broken new ground with The Old Mill development, introducing stylish new layouts that put the houses in a different league to any other scheme. From the outside, the houses are a good mix of designs, each distinct from the other. Open plan front gardens add to the impact and it is planned that these will be maintained by a management company at an annual service charge. The houses have also been grouped together in short cul-de-sacs.

Nowhere is the good design more obvious than in the "L-shaped" five-bedroom homes, which have no less than 2,000 sq ft. The first two units are to be released at £260,000.

The mainly single storey front wing of the house is given over entirely to a superb livingroom and an adjoining diningroom. The livingroom has both a bay window and a picture window, and a high quality black and white marble fireplace. The kitchen is one of the exceptional features of the house. Nothing has been spared to make it one of the best offered in a new housing development. It has a range of cherrywood ground and wall units and plenty of space for dining. A utility room off the kitchen has a wall of presses. There are five double bedrooms in all, two of them and a bathroom on the ground floor. The other three, along with a second bathroom, are upstairs. In addition, the main bedroom has an en suite shower room as well as a walk-in dressingroom complete with wardrobes and shelving. All the other bedrooms also come with wardrobes. The house has a wonderful triangular shaped hall, and outside there is a well finished cobble-locked driveway capable of taking several cars.

Equally impressive is the two-storey house known as The Hops, which has 1,923 sq ft and is priced from £230,000. Once again, there is a large welcoming hall with double doors opening into a terrific livingroom. This arrangement will be particularly useful for entertaining, allowing for easy circulation for of guests. There is a separate diningroom capable of seating a good-sized crowd and a family room off it. As in the previous house, the kitchen is likely to be one of the strong selling points. All five bedrooms are doubles and three of them have en suite facilities. Two of them also have walk-in dressingrooms. The main bedroom is exceptionally spacious to allow part of it to be used as a sittingroom.

Buyers are also being offered a second type of five-bedroom detached house, The Rye, which has 1,900 sq ft and a price tag from £228,000. Once again, there is a highly individual layout, including a top class livingroom which runs the full depth of the house and has windows front and rear. There is also a good-sized family room on the opposite side of the hall. One of the most notable features of the house is the kitchen which measures 22 ft 6 ins by 12 ft 9 ins. The light oak kitchen units are quite an attraction and compliment the solid oak doors downstairs, which are an optional extra. All five bedrooms upstairs are doubles and two of them have en suite showers.

The smallest, and cheapest, of the houses are four-bedroom dormer bungalows with 1,600 sq ft. Four of them are being released for sale today at £195,000. The house has a superb kitchen with a conventional fit-out, including a full wooden counter dividing it from the diningroom. There are double doors leading into what is a large and elegant livingroom at the front of the house. The two main bedrooms are upstairs and both have en suite facilities. All four bedrooms can take double beds.

The two companies involved in The Old Mill, Sherwood Homes and Triman Development, have not skimped on anything. Not only have they fitted out the houses to a specification seldom seen in the Dublin market, but they have also provided lots of extras that should ensure an early sell-out of the first phase.