Houses - New vs. Pre-owned in D15

PauloMN

Went to see the new houses in Castlegrange at the weekend, just being a nosey git really as I've no intention of buying another property. Was surprised at how expensive they are given the current market, but it also made me think why would people buy them?

I live literally 5 mins walk from there in a house around 7 years old. In my estate, you can now get a 4 bed semi with a garden and a driveway for around €400k. In Castlegrange, you have 3 bed mid-terrace with no driveway starting at €395k. :eek:

Can't figure out how people would buy one - very poor value when compared with what you can get for similar money a stone's throw away - in particular given the fact there's no driveways. There's 1.5 spaces per house according to the estate agent, but when some of the houses will be rented, you could have 3 or 4 vehicles per house. Mental... surely there'll be at least 2 cars per property in there?

They were pretty small also... just as well they are throwing in an LCD telly as no way would you fit in an old CRT one.

Stark

PauloMN wrote:

In Castlegrange, you have 3 bed mid-terrace with no driveway starting at €395k.

Aren't mid-terrace houses better than end-of-terrace houses as troublemakers tend to congregate at the end of the terrace?

Edit: Ah I see the other one was a semi-detached.

The house I used to live in was a huge (my bedroom alone was bigger than most people's apartments, same with the kitchen) 4 bedroom end-of-terrace house selling for €375k in Mulhuddart. Afaik, it's still on the market. Not the greatest area in the world, but I don't understand why people would buy a house and commute from Kildare/Louth etc. when they could have somewhere in Dublin for sub-400.

Nevyn

I find that it is the quality of the build that would put me of a new house,
notjjust the size of the rooms but the thinness of the walls.

Middle terrace houses are meant to be more heat efficient mind but a side entrance akes life easier when you have kids.

Zaph

The biggest problem for buyers of the newer builds comes when you decide to move. A mate of mine bought an apartment in one of the early phases in Ongar. After being there a couple of years and with a baby on the way it was time to sell up and move to somewhere bigger. Unfortunately by then there were newer phases opening up at quite attractive prices, and so he was competing with them (this was about 3 or 4 years ago before the changes to stamp duty). However his biggest problem was the huge number of other people who'd bought there as a starter home and were now ready to move on at the same time as him. He ended up dropping the price 3 times in the year the apartment was on the market before he managed to sell it. This is a pattern which seems to happen regularly in new developments.

PauloMN

I just can't see the logic. The house I'm in is 7 years old so is relatively modern, and the build quality would be similar to a new build - usual stud partition walls etc.. There's nothing really that the new house has over my own other than newer kitchen units and a free telly, but it has a whole lot less in terms of space, garden and driveway obviously.

Beside, if someone bought a pre-owned house, there'd be stuff like floors, tiles, possibly kitchen applicances, fireplaces, garden sheds etc. that would come included in the house price in a lot of cases. Even if the stuff isn't to the new buyer's taste, it would do until they have the money to get new stuff in.

Can't understand how they are selling, then again, maybe they aren't. I remember being in a queue to buy my first house at the start of the boom, certainly not like that now. Was only 1 or 2 other people viewing when I went to look at them.

Missy Moo

I live acroos the road from Castlegrange in Latchford.And people did queue out for the castlegrange ones over night:(,when the first went up.Three of our neighbours siblings bought over there.I dont find the three and 4 beds are small:(,but i do think the size of the two beds are a joke.There hasnt been that much interest in them lately,they totoally need to put there prices down.:mad:As for the parking it says 1.5 spaces but,nearly everyone on my road takes up two and there has been no problem with getting a parking spaces,and there are a few rented houses, as there is in most estates.

PauloMN

Interesting, my comments on the parking were based largely on what I've read on the Latchford forum on neighbours.ie. Plenty of people with parking problem stories up there. 1.5 spaces per household when there's 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses will not be enough when the estate is fully occupied.

The 3 beds were definitely smaller than 3 bed semis where I am, literally 5 mins from Latchford. But my main point was that you can get a 4 bed semi, with a garden front and back and a driveway for less than they are charging for 3 bed townhouses.

Missy Moo

Ive heard a lot of people on differnt roads in Latchford have huge parking problems.A lot of roads were you can only park you car at the foothpath,or they didnt put in enough parking spaces.But thankfully theres a load of parking spaces on our road.I think it was just the luck of the draw.Was only talking to a builder today in Latchford about castlegrange houses,and he informed me they cant sell them,and that a 3 bed end of terrace is going for 406 thousand:eek:.I really think that they need to put down there prices,if they want to sell them.