Number 12 Oakview Way and 20 Lohunda Grove are Clonsilla properties that typify the reasonablypriced houses to be found in this corner of the huge area that is Dublin 15.
The house on Oakview Way is a three-bed semi in good condition in Hartstown, for sale through Douglas Newman Good for £93,000-plus. 20 Lohunda Grove is a three-bed semi on one-third of an acre of gardens on a secluded corner site in a cul-de-sac, for sale through Davy Freeman Mitten for £130,000.
12 Oakview Way is a three-bed in a 20-year-old privately-built development where the streets are lined with mature trees - one of the first schemes of houses to be built in Hartstown.
The owner is selling the house and pretty much most of its contents, which include a built-in hob and cooker, integrated fridge freezer and all curtains and carpets. Number 12 is freshly decorated: the open plan kitchen breakfastroom has fitted pine units, tiled splashbacks, and recessed lighting under the units. There are fitted wardrobes in the two double bedrooms, and a good-sized private back garden.
The owner of number 12 is an enthusiastic fan of Hartstown, Clonsilla, and is moving to a new, larger house nearby. It is settled and friendly, says the owner - "You'd never be stuck for anything here."
20 Lohunda Grove is a real surprise: another standard three-bed semi on the outside, this property not only has a really large, private, well-landscaped back garden with three sheds, it also has a number of original features. The large kitchen/breakfastroom, for example, is fitted with timber cupboards made from old ammunition boxes - a former owner was once an army carpenter. He also carved the banisters, and the handsome timber fireplace in the front room. This is a bright, spacious room with a laminated wood floor. The property comes with full planning permission for a two-storey extension.
House prices in places like Huntstown and Hartstown in Clonsilla have risen by from 10 to 15 per cent since we visited the Blanchardstown/Clonsilla area a year ago -. . - but prices here are still pretty much the most competitive in Dublin at the moment, along with Lucan, and there is a good supply of privately-built three-bed semis for under £100,000.
These are mostly older houses, built in the 1970s and 1980s; three and four-year-old three-beds in the area cost over £100,000. Brand new three-bed semis in places like Blanchardstown Heath, near Corduff, sold for £112,500. (There are five £130,000 detached houses left.) And new houses being built are likely to be in a higher price bracket. Sherry FitzGerald, for example, will handle the launch early next month of a scheme called Charnwood, where four-beds are likely to cost over £140,000.
Agent Damien Baxter of Baxter Auctioneers believes the ready supply of houses and the constant turnover is mainly due to the fact that the houses are starter homes, and seen as such by many buyers, who aim to trade up within a few years of buying their Dublin 15 home.
There is a certain amount of buyer-resistance to the area, most agents agree, despite the fact that the Blanchardstown Shopping centre - very close to the Lohunda development - has put this part of west Dublin on the map for many people who had never been near it before the centre opened.
The area as whole has an image problem, agents agree. It is true that there are several large estates in the area that have a "reputation" - but no more so than some areas close to the city centre where people are queuing to buy ex-local authority homes. (It is hard, however, not to notice some of the vivid graffiti on walls around the locality.) At any rate, the usual rules - talk to local gardai, visit the area at night, or at weekends to get a feeling for it - apply if you are trying to find out how "safe" it might be.
The rule of thumb is - the nearer Clonsilla village, the more expensive. (Houses in Porters Gate, Windermere and Aldemere command strong prices.) Clonsilla village is basically the Clonsilla Inn pub, a large church, and a handful of original houses and shops. But it is still has an attractive rural feel; and indeed, countryside is lurking just around the corner, across the Clonsilla train station level crossing. Luttrellstown Castle, and Luttrellstown Golf Club are minutes away along a leafy, winding country road.
The other perception many outsiders have is that places like Huntstown and Hartstown are very far out of the city, simply because they are at its fringe. In fact, the area is only some nine miles from the city centre, which is easily accessible by public transport - the number 39 bus, or by train from Clonsilla station. It takes about half an hour outside rush hour to drive to the city centre, and from 45 minutes-plus in rush hour.
The area is wall-to-wall suburban houses, which will be okay with some buyers, and anathema to others. But it is maturing pretty nicely, with lots of green spaces, and tree-lined streets. And its facilities include several leisure centres like Coolmine Leisure Centre, which has a swimming-pool and gym; three community schools, and of course, Blanchardstown Centre, with its cinema as well as shops.
