A new development launching this weekend in Greystones, Co Wicklow, may be of particular interest to buyers with young children: two national schools and one new secondary school are in easy walking distance of the Seagreen site on Chapel Road, where eventually 180 houses are to be built.

There are currently two showhouses on the elevated site that looks down over the town towards the sea; the backs of the houses look up past farmland to Coolagad Hill.

Twenty-five houses go on sale off plans this weekend from €395,000-plus for three- beds up to €535,000-plus for five-beds through Sherry FitzGerald New Homes.

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Many will have sea views says local builder/developer Jim Wood of Wood Group Homes, as houses will slope steeply down the hill. There is a large green space in front of the showhouses and there will be a total of 3.3 acres of green space in the low density development when it is finished.

It is, says Wood, a 15-minute walk from here down through the Applewood estate to Greystones Dart station.

Three-bed traditional brick-fronted semi-detached houses will range in size from 108-109sq m (1,160-1,176sq ft); five-bed semis are 171sq m (1,845sq ft). The showhouses are bright and energy efficient, with A2 BER ratings: all homes come with gas fired and “solar enhanced” heating which mean that houses have solar thermal roof panels.

Attention to detail

There is good attention to detail: all the houses, for example, will have triple-glazed timber tilt-and-turn windows, tiled entrance porches and a utility room off the kitchens.

The good-sized livingroom on the left of the hall in the five-bedroom showhouse has tall windows; the wide kitchen breakfastroom at the back has polished quartz countertops, a utility room-cum-larder off it and integrated kitchen appliances.

Upstairs, four bedrooms made up of three doubles and one single open off a wide landing. The main bedroom, which has good sea views, comes with Sliderobes and an en suite shower room. Windows, wardrobes, fitted kitchens and wall tiling in kitchens and bathrooms all come as standard.

The fifth bedroom at the very top of the house is a surprise: it has an unusual Velux Cabrio window that converts into a small balcony looking up at Coolagad Hill. Interior designer Eily Roe has designed the bedroom as a child/teenager’s room, with funky wallpaper that makes one of the walls look like a graffitied concrete wall.

Her clever design ideas include a tiled rectangle under the dining table in the three-bed showhouse that looks like a rug. A small galleried space a few steps up from the upstairs landing, big enough for a desk and chair, is another feature of the three-bed house.

The houses have small back gardens with a patio area and two parking spaces.

When the site is complete, the 180 houses will include four-bed semis, a few detached houses and some bungalows.