Gainsborough, Malahide

JohnJoe

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We're currently considering Gainsborough estate in Malahide - there are loads of houses for sale here ranging in price from 625K to 700K for 4 beds.
Any opinion of this area/estate?
With so many houses (approx 13) for sale in this estate is there an underlying problem with this estate or the area. Its alot of money to pay for a house if so many people are trying to get out!
 
It's a fine estate. There is nothing wrong with "it" per-se. The reason there is so many houses for sale is of the market conditions. Many of these houses have been on the market for over a year. I'd be very suprised if any of the vendors are moving out due to the estate itself. Talk to the local agents and arrange a viewing. The fact that there are a good few for sale is in YOUR favor. If you are moving to Gainsbrough to be in Malahide, it is a tad bit far from the village. Still though, the village would cost a fiver in a taxi and the nearest primary school is only 5 mins walk away. Shops about the same

Hope that helps
 
i live in GB and have recently bought there. I know there are 7 houses for sales in one street so i cant speak for them but overall its a nice estate and is safe for kids to play etc. I think the reason for the amount of houses for sale is that the people are probably trading up, the estate is a few yrs old so some of the owners may need more space or want to move close to malahide.
Its about a 20-25 min walk to the village. when i bought there were about 5-6 houses for sale and i would say that most of them have been sold at this stage. There were a few that needed some work but overall the houses are sound. local agents are ok to deal with and they are honest enough about the market ( what else can they do)
You are in a good position to be able to play them against each other ( thats what i did but you have to be brave!!)
 
We're been watching this estate, among others, since '06, with a view to trading up, when a colleague sold his place there (for €750k, nothing was less at the time).

Just last Sunday (15th) we were down in Malahide castle and decided to take a drive around it. We were slightly disappointed. They are not overly big for 4-bed's at 1350sq.ft ish. The back lawns are small by any standard (tiny infact), which can also be seen in the For Sale pic's, and the front drives are not long enough (Again in most cases) for 2 cars.
Don't get me wrong, we really wanted to like it, and it IS a nice place, but its moved down our pecking order.

We also drove Seabury, and they look nice too; but the streets are too narrow, and too much passing traffic and an incredible amount of parked cars made it a very uncomfortable place to drive round!

Both are still on the list, but our current place is looking better and better for an attic conversion ;)
 
I have to agree that the gardens are on the small side but i think the area makes up for it. A south facing garden is also a must no matter the size.

bsloe, I've sent you a pm - i'm really interested in how you went about bidding on these properties.
 
Just last Sunday (15th) we were down in Malahide castle and decided to take a drive around it. We were slightly disappointed. They are not overly big for 4-bed's at 1350sq.ft ish. The back lawns are small by any standard (tiny infact), which can also be seen in the For Sale pic's, and the front drives are not long enough (Again in most cases) for 2 cars.

Some people have moved into Gainsborough because of the Malahide postal address and regretted it. This may explain the heavy turnover. It's not really Malahide, though it has a Malahide postal address. The build quality, finish to the common areas of the estate and gardens are not of a high standard. The estate next to Gainsborough and Killeen and the Warren on the opposite side of the road are better estates.

If the postal address is not a worry, take a look at other estates nearby, e.g. the Melesian estate, about half a mile up the road from Gainsborough just on the Swords side of the motorway. My brother bought there and, also, a work colleague, making signifficant savings. The fewer 4 bed houses are the better houses as as the 3 bed houses are a good bit smaller. However, all the houses come with proper walled gardens (long front gardens with driveways for two cars), the estate is quieter and there is a lot of green space and safer cul de sacs for kids. The estate has only about 90 houses with one entrance (prevents rat running) and 10 minutes walk to the Pavillions, 5 minutes drive from the Airside M1 exit. The Metro will stop outside the Pavillions too. While in Swords (seems to scare off some people!), the location is quiet and not as built up as other sides of Swords.

The best newer (post 1970's) Malahide estates are located on the coast side of the village, on the coast road leading from the Grand Hotel to Portmarnock.
 
It's not really Malahide, though it has a Malahide postal address.

This is a bit archaic don't you think? Of course its Malahide. Arguing Waterside is not in Malahide is one thing; but trying to say Gainsborough is not in Malahide ......

[rant]
I'm sure there is some 1896 Brehan Law paprus map that says Malahide extends 20 yards in each direction from the center of the cross roads
[/rant]

EDIT: (just to add some value to my post :) ), we've gone off GB and dropped it as a potential trade-up location
 
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This is a bit archaic don't you think? Of course its Malahide. Arguing Waterside is not in Malahide is one thing; but trying to say Gainsborough is not in Malahide ......

[rant]
I'm sure there is some 1896 Brehan Law paprus map that says Malahide extends 20 yards in each direction from the center of the cross roads
[/rant]

EDIT: (just to add some value to my post :) ), we've gone off GB and dropped it as a potential trade-up location


paddyd, I still think GB has alot going for it with access to the M1 being better than most other areas in Malahide. What area are you leaning towards?

There are 3 different 4 bed house types in GB built by different builders, one type is timber framed so is not suitable for an attic conversion and the other two types are block construction so would be suitable for an attic conversion. I see asking prices slipping towards 600K, they get more interesting when a house in GB asks less than 600K - I see this happening early next year..
 
I still think GB has alot going for it with access to the M1 being better than most other areas in Malahide. What area are you leaning towards?

For a start we love the area/house/neighbours we have, its really just that we're considering taking advantage of a current market to trade-up. Neither of us are from Dublin, so have no ties or draw to a particular area.

Places like swords/donabate can command GB prices for a 4-bed semi but am not keen on either (Very familiar with both).
Other more out-there options are to move to nth wicklow, or Meath (I see 2,800 sq.ft houes in Knightsbrook Trim for about GB prices or below. Thats a big house).
For now we're in no rush and the easy option is to stay put (large 3-bed semi, suitable for a large attic conv), but at the levels you mentioned above (without getting into house price discussions) I think GB would certainly represent value as a long-term family home. We're more interested in value than 'badge'
 
JohnJoe, GB is a quiet estate ideal for families right on the edge of Malahide - the border with Swords being at the Swords road / Estuary road junction. The build quality is only reasonable e.g. the PVC windows are from Munster joinery, watch for for ill fitting windows causing draught. One house type has the main bathroom in the centre of the first floor and is windowless expect for a light tunnel to the roof. The sound insulation is really poor - at least in the house type with red brick and the white inverted T above the master bedroom. The builder for this house type is retired however and you would need to deal with the difficult people in Homebond if anything went wrong. A fair number of houses in GB are let. Avoid the avenue as this road carries all the traffic into and out of the estate. The local residents assoc is very good.
 
If it is a family home, my own money would be on Gainsborough Green and Gainsborough Park. Both have cul de sac locations and face a green area.

You will buy Gainsborough for circa 620 at the moment. However a really good south facing Gainsborough Park house (largest) should still fetch 680,000 plus.
 
JohnJoe, GB is a quiet estate ideal for families right on the edge of Malahide - the border with Swords being at the Swords road / Estuary road junction. The build quality is only reasonable e.g. the PVC windows are from Munster joinery, watch for for ill fitting windows causing draught. One house type has the main bathroom in the centre of the first floor and is windowless expect for a light tunnel to the roof. The sound insulation is really poor - at least in the house type with red brick and the white inverted T above the master bedroom. The builder for this house type is retired however and you would need to deal with the difficult people in Homebond if anything went wrong. A fair number of houses in GB are let. Avoid the avenue as this road carries all the traffic into and out of the estate. The local residents assoc is very good.


Very informative post Ray, thanks.
Sound insulation is a big thing (for us anyway), and is very hard to test as you generally view a house during a quiet time. we currently have excellent sound insulation (surrounded by small children so its well tested) but some friends/colleagues are not so lucky;
one in Clonsilla had to get the builders in for 2 weeks to strip down the ajoining walls and re-insulate the whole house (family had to move out while this was going on).
The other one can even hear his neighbour closing the microwave and is selling up!
 
I see asking prices slipping towards 600K, they get more interesting when a house in GB asks less than 600K - I see this happening early next year..

The 600K barrier is broken I earlier than i expected here - there is as much as a 100K price difference between the highest and lowest priced 4 bed houses in this estate.. this is highly unusual.
The higher priced houses will need to drop their price if they have a realistic chance of selling imo.
 
The 600K barrier is broken I earlier than i expected here - there is as much as a 100K price difference between the highest and lowest priced 4 bed houses in this estate.. this is highly unusual.
The higher priced houses will need to drop their price if they have a realistic chance of selling imo.

I actually just thought of checking to see how GB was getting along last night and didn't notice that one :) Interesting development all the same.

In truth its a 20% drop from its peak of 750 for this estate (perhaps this one would have even been less), which is about the expected drop for a house like this according to the indices.
 
Back in the good old days GB would have been considered a great buy due its malahide address and what are really nice and spacious homes. However due to the market it was obvious that prices here were going to take a big hit becasue to be honest there are better homes alot closer to the village. To walk from GB to Gibneys for example would is about 1.5 miles so whilst it is malahide it is on the perimiter. Original owners need not worry about negative equity (for the a while anyway) becasue the houses are over 10 years old and the prices did get out of hand like every other house price in Ireland. Prices in GB in my opinion will fall further but I do think new owners are picking up a great estate on the perimiter of a beautiful village
 
Gainsborough price update

Interesting to see how prices have changed since the original post.
These houses are now selling for around 390k.
 
even more interesting to see they are being rented for almost €3k per month and almost back to the 2008 value -
 
Hi, Just having a look at this thread.
Firstly, I love Malahide. Grew up there. However, you need to remember it is a 6km stretch from one side to the other now. So there's different parts to it. Everyone's favourite parts are different. I really like the vibe around Seabury even though it's far from center it has a great community vibe with lots of really friendly people.

We didn't settle in Malahide - the attraction of living walking distance to an Educate Together school for the kids and a better insulated house swung it to Donabate. But, if that's not an issue for you, go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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