"starter Homes"

Number 30 Oak Green, Royal Oak, Santry is a comfortable suburban house that might particularly suit a first-time buyer working in or near Dublin Airport. The 14-year-old estate of about seven roads and 200 or so houses, tucked away just off the M1 motorway near Santry Stadium, is approximately three miles from Dublin's city centre and within striking distance of both the airport and Swords.

Number 30 is on the market for £127,500-plus through joint agents Gunne and Flynn & Associates. The three-bed 957sq-ft semi-detached home is in walk-in condition, and has been very well-maintained and decorated.

A small glazed entrance porch opens into a timber-floored hall - indeed, all the downstairs rooms have timber floors. A door to the right opens into a decent-sized livingroom with a square bay window. Panelled double doors open into the kitchen/diningroom. A counter divides the neat, well-organised kitchen from a good-sized dining area, which has patio doors opening on to the private back garden.

This is a neatly-landscaped area with higher than usual walls, and a good patio area. It is laid-out in lawns, and planted with shrubs.

Upstairs there are two double bedrooms and one single, currently used as a dressingroom: all have fitted wardrobes, with those in the dressingroom being most impressive - there is no shortage of storage space in this house. The family bathroom has purple sanitary ware, and a tiled bath with shower installed.

The house is located near the bottom of a cul-de-sac, and there is a green space near by; it would be suitable for someone with, or about to start, a family.

There are a good supply of homes for sale in the £125,000 to £130,000-plus range in both Royal Oak, and more recently-built Aulden Grange and Woodlawn, two estates of suburban houses on the Coolock side of the huge roundabout that provides access from both Santry and Coolock to the M1.

Royal Oak feels cut off from Santry proper - the main entrance is a sharp turn off the short stretch of Coolock Lane which runs between the roundabout and Swords Road. However, there is pedestrian access on to Swords Road, near the bus stop for the number 41 bus, which runs from Eden Quay in Dublin to Dublin Airport and Swords.

There is easy access by car both to Dublin city centre, and many parts of the northside.

Some local agents regard these estates as a well-kept secret, a supply of attractive modern homes at what are now considered reasonable first-time buyer-prices. Local agent Noel Kelly reports that there is strong demand for houses in these estates, often from first-time buyers who grew up in parts of Santry that are now out of first-time buyer range. (Houses on streets like Lorcan Road, near the Omni Park shopping complex, now cost around £150,000-plus.)

There is no national school in these estates, and many parents drive children to schools in Santry, even to Larkhill on the Whitehall/Santry border, a pretty short drive or bus ride away. As for shopping, both Omni Park and the Northside Shopping Centre are in easy reach of Royal Oak, Aulden Grange and Woodlawn.

There are proposals to locate a 50-metre swimming pool in nearby sport grounds.

Houses in Woodlawn and Aulden Grange command somewhat higher prices than those in Royal Oak, say, £130,000-plus compared to £125,000-plus. Built in the early 90s, these homes have the by-now standard en suites of modern houses.

37 Aulden Grange is such a house: also on sale through Gunne's Fairview office, for £130,000, it is a bright, 980sq-ft three-bed semi painted in strong primary colours.

The layout of the house is very similar to that of the house in Royal Oak: the principal design difference is the good-sized en suite shower room off the main bedroom. The owners of this house have also added an attractive conservatory opening off the kitchen/diningroom. The livingroom has ceiling coving, and double doors to the diningroom.

Upstairs, the family bathroom is painted a vivid blue and turquoise. The main bedroom has polished floorboards.

Houses in Aulden Grange and neighbouring Woodlawn have attracted some investors - the huge Gateway computer company headquarters is right next door to it, and there are other industries on this Coolock industrial estate - but the bulk are first-time buyers, according to local agents.

The houses are in Santry, Dublin 9, say agents, although they are on the Coolock side of the M1. It is an area without much choice of public transport, although it is served by the crosstown 17A bus service which runs between Finglas and Kilbarrack.