Long considered the heart of the thoroughbred county, Naas town lured Kerry Group to the locale in 2015, along with some 1500 workers, catapulting house prices upwards there in 2015 and 2016.
It has a strong reputation for good restaurants, quality fashion shopping and it’s a good base for outdoor pursuits with premium golf courses and equine options from hunting to eventing on the doorstep.
Developers have been actively building here too. When it launched last September Stoneleigh, a development by Ballymore Homes, priced its two-bed houses at €290,000 and three-bed semis ranged from €330,000 to €340,000.
Bellingsfield at Piper’s Hill is another Ballymore Homes three- and four-bed development that launched earlier this year with prices starting from €345,000.
One kilometre from the town centre, just beyond the fire station and the ruins of Jigginstown Castle, is Ardstone Homes latest offering, Castle Farm, an estate of 178 of two-, three- and four-bed houses.
The redbrick-fronted properties have been designed using virtual reality technology to ‘walk through’ each style of house, with John Fleming Architects tweaking the layout and window positions to optimise the light and flow of the rooms. And the properties are bathed in light thanks mainly to larger-than standard uPVC windows by Grady Joinery.
Phase one of the scheme comprises 23 units and includes three-bed mid- and end-terrace units and three- and four-bed semis.
Office station
The mid-terrace units measure 105sq m/1130sq ft and range from €295,000; the end of terrace houses are 106-108 sq m /1141-1163sq ft and prices start from €305,000.
Three-bed semis are 112sq m/1206 sq ft and priced from €322,500 while the four-bed semis are 1421-1507 sq ft /132-140 sq m and priced at €375,000 through joint agents DNG New Homes and Naas-based DNG Doyle.
The showhouses have been fitted out by House and Garden Furnishings and include smart peninsula-style kitchens by Fitzgerald Kitchens, who also did the wardrobes. Appliances are included along with appealingly designed kids’ bedrooms. Some properties have a nook under the stairs that works as an office station and the showhouse bookshelves – in a nod to the county’s biggest industry – feature bloodstock-related titles. A diversion at least for family members dragged along to viewings.
The three-bed semi is done to a well considered design. It includes a large open plan living-dining-sitting area that offers a proper second space, as well as a separate utility room and gardens that are at least 50ft long.
Across the street is Cairn Homes’s Elsmore development where show homes will be ready in May. An estate with a higher density, its three-beds will start from €295,000 and four-beds start from €340,000. The estate is adjacent to Enable Ireland.
Founded in 2005, Castle Farm is one of 15 developments on the books of developer Ardstone Homes, which is backed by private investment firm Ardstone Capital. It has stated plans to deliver some 3,500 new houses to the market within the next five years and is currently building in Ashford, Co Wicklow and Stocking Lane, Rathfarnham.
Naas has good connectivity to the capital with regular bus services to the city centre and a regular train time to Dublin’s Heuston Station of just 25 minutes from nearby Sallins, a five-minute drive away.
