There were no queues at the launch on Saturday of 80 new homes at Adamstown in west Dublin, in contrast to the keen demand at the first phase of the development 18 months ago when over 300 units were sold over one weekend.
Adamstown, near Lucan, is the first scheme in the Government's Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) initiative which was designed to fast-track planning for starter homes. The area will ultimately have over 10,000 homes and is advertised as a "self contained community". The overall scheme, which is being carried out by three different developers, will not be completed until 2016.
The first phase of homes launched in February 2006 saw hundreds of people queuing to buy property from plans, at prices ranging from €280,000 for a one-bedroom apartment up to €520,000 for a four-bedroom house. Subsequent phases of apartments and houses were almost as successful with a total of around 800 homes sold in 2006.
Many of those buyers have now moved in but sales have slowed down considerably. On Saturday a relatively small number of prospective buyers wandered around the show houses and just 14 of the 80 properties were sold on the first day of viewing of "The Paddocks", a phase of the development being built by Maplewood Homes. Another nine homes were sold yesterday.
The show houses included two duplexes that featured recently on RTÉ's Showhouse. However less than 100 people visited the launch on the first day. Estate agents remained positive saying they were "delighted with the turnout and sales, with many people showing a firm interest".
Gina Kennedy, of Douglas Newman Good, said queues had not been expected because there were four other developments being launched at the weekend, predominantly aimed at first-time buyers. She said people were no longer panic buying.
"There is a lot of choice out there, people are more confident and they can go and look at different schemes, come back and make a decision. The quality of people looking is much better, there are fewer window shoppers, and people are genuinely interested in purchasing."
The plans for Adamstown include schools, the first of which opened at the beginning of September, shopping centres, parkland, a bus route and a new train station. There are at least three more phases to be launched from "The Paddocks". The price of four-bedroom semi-detached houses has already been cut by around €45,000 to €475,000.
Shane Daly, a director of Gunne New Homes whose team was responsible for the sellout of the Adamstown Castle development last year, is planning a fresh launch at Admastown later this month. "We are in for the long haul at Adamstown and we are confident about where the market is going. The consumer has been spooked, but there has been good news on interest rates and we expect lots of people to go out and have a look. There is a lot of choice for buyers right now."