New Houses in Diswellstown Castleknock

Thought it was 225 dwellings in total in Hamilton Park, not 400?
Its Luttrellstown Community College, about 1 km away from this estate
 
Apologies mistyped it - I did mean Lutrellstown Community College. Was wondering with CCC being heavily oversubscribed will down the line this estate be brought into the Luttrellstown CC catchment?

We asked at the weekend and were told by the estate agent that there will be 400 houses in total in this development. about 150 on the map at the moment & not sure how many of these are available in the first phase?
 
They are only in a position to confirm the position for next year, which they have said they will allow entrants from both Hamilton and Diswellstown Manor. They aren't in a position to confirm anything down the line.
 
I was there on Saturday and luckily was able to purchase a house. Odd decision to put most 4 beds with a north garden for this phase. There were only a few available with east or south gardens but there was a price premium for orientation so those with a North back garden will look like good value soon I think. The 3 beds were excellent value, one is the same as the 2.5 story 4 bed but still has an attic to convert. We didnt intend buying but the houses were much nicer and bigger than expected, also the gardens are huge. We have been looking since January and most houses we viewed need new windows, kitchens, bathrooms, walls pulled down or back up. Continually underwhelmed when viewing houses of late and the prices are silly for the work many require. Anything in good condition meant a bidding war and throngs of people at viewings.

Have to say given Bracken is over 635k for a 4 bed semi now and further from all amenities there is no comparison. They are lovely but these are every bit as nice I thought and have bigger gardens. Also remember you need to pay WYSE a €750 management fee per year to live in Bracken, I have worked with them before and dont doubt the service can be done for €200 per house as they are incredibly expensive as a managing agent - incompetent to boot. Thats 20k over a 30 year mortgage and all they do is cut the grass in the green areas????? Similar spec so just cant see a reason for the huge price difference (Over 140k??). Worth remembering though a 4 bed semi in Phase one in Bracken Park was 535k, then Phase 2 was 595k and its continuing upward. I have no doubt Hamilton will go the same. There were only 44 houses on sale on Sat (I believe they are more or less gone and the builder (Park) bought 6 himself as there was to be 50 for sale). They want to generate interest and waiting lists. There must have been up to 100 there on Saturday so probably a decent launch given both viewings clashed with Ireland in the Rugby on Sat and Dublin in the GAA on Sunday. Id say without those games on there would have even been more interest.

There is no through road to Diswellstown Manor/Mulberry - just pedestrian access. Its a big site with a lot of green space. It will stretch from behind Mulberry to Diswellstown Manor (Across from Castleknock Hotel) and then into Carpenterstown. There is only traffic around at school times. I currently live 2 mins away and the traffic in the area is not bad at all compared to most, the train alleviates so much of this and roads are fairly new.

The school on the doorstep - 2 min walk - (St Patricks) will take people from this estate and also Castleknock Community College (3 min walk) will . Not sure where that idea came from where they wouldnt, I think this year they would be hard to get into but next year will be fine if you register. There is no such place as "Diswellstown" really, that is the name of the old house where the houses are built. I grew up in the area so know it fairly well. Not sure you could even have an address of "Diswellstown" - mind you they did it with Ongar which was just a house and farm but it was developed into a village in fairness which wont be happening on anything like that scale here... Diswellstown Manor is a separate estate and I think some people are getting confused. It is accessed from the Hotel on Porterstown Rd, this may have catchment issues etc.... but probably related to access point. They are completely separate developments and developers so maybe something to look into - the houses in Diswellstown look really nice from the web site too, more house types than expected.

Given all we have to do is buy floors and carpets (All tiling is done which is really great and all kitchen/utility has appliances fitted) this was an easy enough decision versus some of the stock on sale on Myhome in the area. We would have liked a "mature" estate but the pros just really outweigh the cons when we viewed Hamilton. A 150sqm house anywhere else in the area was costing much more and nowhere near the spec or garden size.
 
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Bobsworth said:
Have to say given Bracken is over 635k for a 4 bed semi now and further from all amenities there is no comparison.
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4 beds in Bracken Park are currently from €595k for 143 SQ.M, from €620k for 159 SQ.M and from €665k for €172 SQ.M (4 bed with study). Some of these may no longer be available but until recently at least they were. All types contain 4 double bedrooms.
Bobsworth said:
all they do is cut the grass in the green areas?????
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Management fee includes refuse collection, maintenance/upkeep of parkland area and playground, maintenance/upkeep of all planting/landscaping to front of houses, among other items.
Bobsworth said:
a 4 bed semi in Phase one in Bracken Park was 535k
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Was from €610k for 159 SQ.M; from €655 for 172 SQ.M in phase 1.
Bobsworth said:
then Phase 2 was 595k and its continuing upward
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Was from €595k for 143 SQ.M in phase 2. This smaller 4 bed only came available in phase 2.
Bobsworth said:
and its continuing upward
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It would be more accurate to say that they are more or less remaining the same price as they were in phase 1, except for maybe the 159 SQ.M house which has increased by €10k/€20k depending on aspect.
 
Bobsworth thank you for an excellent & detailed post. So I take it you went for one of the four beds 2 storeys (The Laverys) out the front? Do you know what 6 houses the builder bought for themselves?

I was between the four bed two storeys with the north facing gardens / 3 rooms downstairs, versus the four bed three storeys with the south facing gardens / two rooms (way smaller) downstairs. Its a very hard decision

I think the pricing history for bracken was as per post after yours. In fairness, bracken is an extremely smart looking estate in a location closer to castleknock village.

The reality is that house prices have fallen somewhat in castleknock due to the mortgage lending issue.

Re converting attics in these houses, as they are timberframe and have solar panels / heat recovery systems with piping in the attic, this may not be entirely straightforward
 
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Thanks taytoman. Yes a Lavery. You can convert attic similar to size of Swift. No issues with frame etc...also plenty of room for rear extensions.

Other user? When I was at Bracken day 1 a 4 bed was "from" 535k - similarly to Hamilton, many are more, the last remaining 144m Swift is 570k.

As for management fees. I've used and removed WYSE before as an agent. I have worked extensively in properly investment in ireland. 750€ per year with no internal hallways, lifts, underground car park or security gates is way too much. The agents there also handle more sites than they can manage. A

brief example in one development I was involved with where WYSE were the managing agent from inception. Refuse collection was included however WYSE chose to pay another company €12700 per year to "line up" the bins for collection. It could be done for €1100 per year. Also while the communal lawns will be kept you have insurance issues with estates like this as well as sinking funds and agent fees c.55k per year. How many units are there? If WYSE charge 55k a year then how much of the €750 goes directly?? It is not always as straight forward as it seems. I've no issue with managed estates but Bracken should be nowhere near €750 a year.

I think the phase one houses appreciate that's all, as the estate matures and finishes it's natural. Both lovely estates but 150sqm v 143sqm with 100k difference doesn't add up to me, plus 20k management fee - these are low maintenance estates and houses.

Cheers
 
I think the 570swift has a large corner site and has an extended kitchen.Appears larger than 144m2.
 
Also yes some prices have fallen. From June 15-June 16 there should be a correction but the economics of the situation mean they will then rise again.

We found that anything "turnkey" and keenly priced was sold at a premium and those requiring work weren't - that's in last 6 months. Reason as you say is the ICB regulation which eradicated cash to fix houses up, it's now going to the deposit instead.

We looked all over and due to shortage of stock in the castleknock areas prices are holding up much better than elsewhere, Sunday Indo included Castleknock as one of the current
taytoman said:
I think the 570swift has a large corner site and has an extended kitchen.Appears larger than 144m2.
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You could be right there. It's a really nice house too, bigger master bed but smaller living space/kitchen. First world problems thankfully!
 
Ye we have been looking around castleknock area for a good 12 months now and have to agree that there is a lack of supply so house prices are holding up in this area, despite new lending rules.

Had held out for fairhaven but to be honest was disappointed what it offered for the money being asked, think Hamilton offers more although it is that further out of town & 'real' castleknock.

One unknown however is how built up the estate will feel when 400 built in total and whether demand will continue with the latter phases which will in turn impact on whether these phase 1 ones will retain their value... Demand for the bracken houses appears to have quietened quite a bit from when the first phase was released.
 
Bobsworth said:
Other user? When I was at Bracken day 1 a 4 bed was "from" 535k
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As already indicated there has never been a 4 bedroom house for less than €595k at Bracken Park, at least not one advertised publicly.

Re management fee's, I was merely pointing out that it includes more than just
Bobsworth said:
cut the grass in the green areas
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. Whether it's value for money or not is a different matter.

It would be more accurate to say that prices in Bracken Park have not increased from their initial launch in May 2014. During the couple of months leading up to that launch the market was particularly heated, which possibly pushed up the asking prices at that time. Since then things have cooled, maybe even fallen a little. Hence no real increase in price in subsequent phases to this day.

Interestingly if you look at the property price register today, the last couple of houses that have sold in Castleknock have all sold below their original asking price. I would hazard a guess that the opposite could be true for 2013, 1st half 2014.

Best of luck with your purchase.
 
I was at the launch at Hamilton park last Saturday and it was exactly the same as it was at the peak of the boom. A "bouncer" type system was in place to stop people rushing the sales office. Firstly let me say I love the houses, but I could not get over the stupidity of the people looking to buy there. I would not have been surprised if the agents had added another 20-50k to the asking price and via the pressure put to buy on the spot people would have done it. None of the people in attendance obviously read a newspaper article in the last 8 years about property. I overheard a husband ringing his wife to buy one of the detached houses she had not even seen before someone else took it off the market(think it was close to 600k)...we have to buy now or we will never be able to buy another house type approach. This was the 1st 50 or so out of 400 odd houses which will be released right next door to diswellstown manor which will add to that number in October so it shows the pressure the idiots felt to buy there and then. The wife gave him the green light anyway but I'm sure the lady in question would have done more research into buying a handbag then a property in Hamilton Park(which by the way is just a marketing name it will be known as Diswellstown close/drive). Finally people who bought a north facing garden at least wont expect the sun but other purchasing a west/south facing garden will be in for a surprise as the gardens are so small you wont get any sun on them for the majority of the afternoon/evening when the sun decides to shine! goodluck to those who panic bought......you'll need it.
 
Bobby2015, quite funny description of the sherry fitz guy in the pinstripe suit with the clipboard! I saw him talking to a lady of advanced age and repeatedly assuring her that " no, no, this is castleknock". Hipe in the IT property supplement to-day saying there were 150 people at the launch- plenty of tire kickers though. Anyway, tearing my hair out between the very spacious 4 bed lavery type which yes all bar 2 have the north facing 11 metre garden with ben dunnes high treeline behind, and the 4 bed swift with the south facing 10 metre garden that is effectively a three bed with a fourth spacious dormer bedroom in the attic. I thought the houses were quite ok value and make fairhaven and bracken look not so good value. There may be another 350 (?) identical houses, but the asking price will hardly go down in price in the future, bearing in mind the current shortage of new builds. But wonder about the traffic in the morning. Interesting to see what diswellstown manor 4 &5 beds will be priced at- they look better but at the 4 beds are significantly smaller.
 
Bobby2015 said:
I was at the launch at Hamilton park last Saturday and it was exactly the same as it was at the peak of the boom. A "bouncer" type system was in place to stop people rushing the sales office. Firstly let me say I love the houses, but I could not get over the stupidity of the people looking to buy there. I would not have been surprised if the agents had added another 20-50k to the asking price and via the pressure put to buy on the spot people would have done it. None of the people in attendance obviously read a newspaper article in the last 8 years about property. I overheard a husband ringing his wife to buy one of the detached houses she had not even seen before someone else took it off the market(think it was close to 600k)...we have to buy now or we will never be able to buy another house type approach. This was the 1st 50 or so out of 400 odd houses which will be released right next door to diswellstown manor which will add to that number in October so it shows the pressure the idiots felt to buy there and then. The wife gave him the green light anyway but I'm sure the lady in question would have done more research into buying a handbag then a property in Hamilton Park(which by the way is just a marketing name it will be known as Diswellstown close/drive). Finally people who bought a north facing garden at least wont expect the sun but other purchasing a west/south facing garden will be in for a surprise as the gardens are so small you wont get any sun on them for the majority of the afternoon/evening when the sun decides to shine! goodluck to those who panic bought......you'll need it.
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Agree - it was like 2006 again but not sure if I'd question the motives or intellect of all people buying. This was a preview so all registered must have had some interest like yourself.

Didn't realise that about some gardens as they all looked pretty good to me, maybe they will get smaller as the phases release and the first lot are just to hook you etc...

Can't imagine buying a house like you mention above but they may well have done their research beforehand, chosen they house type and location off the plan that was e mailed to people? If they have approval for a 600k house they have 120k in their back pocket for a deposit so can't be all that stupid.
 
Any views on the very spacious north facing garden 4 bed or the not so big 3 bed masquerading as a 4 bed that has a south facing garden ?
 
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I wonder what are the practical implications for buyers of the fact that this is a NAMA owned development? Any risks there?
 
I was interested in buying a 3 bed in Hamilton Park although I Know I will have to wait till next spring. I asked a sales person today if they had allocated any of the houses for social housing. The lady told me that they have not sure if Ill buy now. Maybe Iam being unfair to people out there hoping and waiting for one of these social houses in Hamilton Park.
 
As far as I am aware 20% of all new developments have to be allocated to social housing (can be apartments). So there is nothing unique to Hamilton Park in that regard. Bracken Park would have been subject to the same rule to my knowledge
 
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