At last some new apartments in Temple Bar are coming on the market - just in time for those seeking a tax shelter for their property portfolio. First off the block will be 10 apartments in the Book End development, beside Isolde's Tower on Essex Quay which will be offered for sale in the next fortnight. Larger than usual one-bedroom units are expected to cost from £135,000 in the Liffeyside scheme, which is being marketed through the Ross McParland agency. Three-bedroom duplexes, of which there are six, will be priced at around £235,000. All will qualify for full Section 23 relief. The prices compare favourably with some of the over-priced Section 23 apartment schemes in the city centre, notably the grand-sounding College Gate and Trinity Plaza, both in the less fashionable environs of Townsend Street.

Meanwhile, TBP has opened an inquiries list for over 180 apartments in the west end, an area that has now been renamed Old City, no less. This new neighbourhood is located between Christchurch and the Civic Offices, where five new schemes are under construction. The quirkily named developments, Pudding Row (40 units) The Wooden Building (16 units); Saul's Court (29 units); Music Hall (67 units); and Scarlet Row (38 units), will start to come on the market next spring, with prices beginning at a reasonable sounding £115,000 for one-beds.