While housing starts are ominously down at a time when the supply should be steaming ahead, there is increasing evidence of price stability in the new homes market. A number of high profile schemes such as one at Santry, near Dublin airport, have sold very well, but there are many others where sales are sluggish. A number of builders are quietly dropping prices to wrap up sales, particularly in more expensive developments, where twobedroom apartments are costing over £250,000. The real shortfall is at the bottom end of the Dublin city apartment market, where Zoe Developments, once the kingpin, is now moving away from flats to the more lucrative commercial market. The real demand is still for starter units, not landscaped duplexes and penthouses in the suburbs.