A new bungalow for just €36,822 (in 1984)

It’s incredible to think that in May 1984, a new bungalow at Lynn Heights could be bought for as little as £29,000 (€36,822).

An advert in the Westmeath Examiner of May 26 1984 advertised the estate, saying: “If you’re looking for something very special… look at Lynn Heights”.

The asking price was £34,000 (€43,171) – but first time buyers were eligible for a government grant of £4,000 (€5,078) and the developer was offering a £1,000 (€1,269) cheque refund on each of the first three sales completed, which combined could take the price down to £29,000.

The developer was James Andrews Construction Ltd of Austin Friars Street, Mullingar, and the firm’s advert described Lynn Heights as being ‘an exclusive development in tranquil surrounds’.

The houses were described as being ‘thoughtfully designed’ and there was just a small number available. The advert said they incorporated many outstanding features both inside and out and were well worth viewing.

In that same issue, auctioneer Jimmy McDonnell was offering one of the semi-detached houses at Lynn Heights for sale, at £24,000 ono (€30,473). It came with carpet, curtains and all furniture.

Flash forward to today, and there would be no point in looking at a house in Lynn Heights with anything less than well over €200,000 in your pocket. The most recent sale there was in 2023 of a house that fetched €218,000. Two years earlier a house at Lynn Heights sold for €263,000.

Another advert on the same page revealed that just up the road, new two-bedroom detached bungalows could be bought for £22,500 (€28,569) at Chestnut Drive in Ballinderry.

There too, buyers would qualify for a government grant of £4,000 if they had not purchased before. Handling the sale was auctioneer Joe Maguire and the developers were Keegan and O’Connor.

Other houses for which prices were given in Jimmy McDonnell’s ad were three-bed semi-detached bungalows at Oaklawns. Those were new houses and were selling for £28,975 (€36,790). Also on offer at Oaklawns were new two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows for £21,500 (€27,299).