Bridgefield in tune with new market

Tommy Barker observes that high specification and other innovations are likely to be the norm in new-builds.

WITH the slow-down and a bit of a stand-off still evident in house sales following last year’s market changes, builders have to be prepared to offer a bit more than before.

With the cost of borrowing money now dearer, and with supply coming to meet demand, the euphemism is that we are entering a ‘mature market.’

Gone are the days of selling out schemes almost irrespective of merit off plans, or releasing a limited number of houses or apartments, and then jacking up prices even more in subsequent phases. Welcome back some semblance of sanity.

With the weight taken off the pressure-cooker pressure to buy, would-be buyers, of which there are still plenty, can take time out to smell the roses, sample the landscaping, pace out the square footage, weigh up what the real attractions are in one scheme vis a vis another, and then make a balanced purchase decision.

Dublin’s a big and diverse market in just about every respect, and builders there are starting to innovate to compete for sales. One builder there in a huge scheme at Tyrrelstown is offering six-months free mortgages, another a wide array of additional feature, carpets, appliances and more to lure in buyers, especially the all-important first timers.

And, while prices haven’t really dropped from last year’s levels, no-one is really expecting much, if any, price inflation in the entry level to the market this year.

The apartments and townhouses now on show and being finished out at Bridgefield in Cork are in tune with these changed times, in more ways than one.

It is a high-density scheme, some 108 units plus a creche on six acres. The site was bought with planning already in place by developers Bride View from owners the Lynch family for €11 million, and the modern-styled homes are on a triangular site at the end of the Curraheen Road in Cork’s Bishopstown. There’s a mix of one- two, three and four-bedroomed options, many in non-standard layouts, such as some four-storey houses, duplexes on top of duplexes, and single storey apartments on top of duplexes.

First up, notes Bride View company director Tom O’Keeffe, they fully meet the latest rateable energy efficiency requirements, and will get high ratings when surveyed — although mos of the assessors of the new standards haven’t yet come out of a training process themselves.

The scheme, designed by Murray O Laoire Architects, has soaring mono-pitch and slate roofs, some zinc roofing and zinc on box dormers, red hanging feature tiles on square bays, treated cedar cladding,and some rooms have double-height glazed sheets. Other add-ons include costly Swedex double glazing and doors, carpets and/or wood floors fitted, tiling and a range of appliances in each house or apartment, including fridge-freezers, washer/dryers, oven and hob, etc, as well as built-ins, gas heating etc, walnut doors, Sky-tube lighting and wall-mounted acoustic vents to allow fresh air circulation while cutting down on road noise along the Ballincollig bypass.

The crisply-styled blocks are now a familiar sight along this road, and while from here they may seem relatively remote to Bishopstown, the surprise when within the scheme, is just how close they are to the 1960s Halldene estate: they are right beside it, separated just by the Twopot River and a clutch of big pine trees.

Also nearby (across the Curraheen Road) are the University Technology Park and the Greyhound Track, while there are access/exit ramps for the bypass and ring road network adjacent. Several of the upper level apartments have allocated secure bike stores, by the way, and there are corralled areas for bins and recycling.

Bridgefield sales started in a quiet way back last autumn, and several sections have already sold out but now showhouses are finished by designer Stephen Dunne, and intending buyers can now get a real sense of what is on offer.

The impression is of well-finished units, and Bride View have kept standards to their upmarket Douglas House development. Sizes range from 520 sq ft one-beds, through 630/797 sq ft two-beds priced at €385,000. There are 1,253 sq ft three bed duplexes and lofty four-bed townhouses with gardens in the €460/470,000 range. Most of the living areas are large and bright, though some of the second bedrooms in two-bed (no ensuites here) apartments are small, definitely single-sized.

The scheme, being sold by Tom O’Keeffe of Bride View jointly with Larry Murphy of Irish and European, will have a management company, with an annual charge of about €1,000 a year, which includes refuse collection, house insurance, landscaping and communal area maintenance, even window cleaning, handy when so many have extensive tall glazed sections.