DONNYBROOK: FROM €495,000The final phase of apartments and houses at Bloomfield Park in Donnybrook is priced to sell.

THE OLD SAYING about the early bird catching the worm just doesn't apply to the new homes market anymore. Because of the downturn in property, most large scale developments built in the last two to three years still have units for sale - at substantially less than the original asking prices.

Even with its prime D4 location, Bloomfield Park in Donnybrook is no exception. When the scheme, built on the site of a Carmelite convent, was sold from plans in May 2005, buyers paid between €680,000 and €900,000 for two-bedroom apartments.

Now the final phase of the development is for sale with two-beds from €625,000, while a row of townhouses that were originally expected to cost from €1.5 million are now starting at €1.1 million.

Two penthouses with floor areas of about 235sq m (2,529sq ft) that offer panoramic views of Dublin Bay to the mountains are also available. One of these is in shell condition, while the other has been finished to a high degree, with a superb kitchen offering wraparound views, and luxurious bathrooms.

The scheme is now finished and maturing nicely with great communal gardens and the parking tucked away underground. On a sunny morning recently, several residents were sunning themselves on wide balconies overlooking the communal gardens. The ambience is one of quiet, grown-up affluence, with not a washing line in sight.

The most interesting units are the townhouses which form their own avenue at the far end of the scheme and which have parking spaces in front shaded by weeping willows. These are spacious houses with kitchens to the front and large livingrooms to the rear, opening onto landscaped gardens. The finish is superb throughout. There are just five of these and they should appeal to downsizers keen to move to a house rather than apartments. Elsewhere in the scheme there are 10 two-bed units on various floors and a one-bed apartment at €495,000. Selling agent Eoin O'Neill of Sherry Fitz-Gerald New Homes, who has worked on this for the last three years, insists that buyers will get good value. "We want to see these sold and are ready to do deals."

NAME: Bloomfield Park

NUMBER OF UNITS: 20

PRICES: €495,000 for a single remaining one-bedroom unit; two-bedroom apartments from €625,000; two-bed townhouses from €1.1m; three-bed townhouses at €1.295m

AGENT: Sherry FitzGerald New Homes

WEBSITE: www.sherryfitz.ie