Which part of Cherrywood is safest to buy in now?

Which part of Cherrywood is safest to buy in now?

Mercer Vale and the established Tully Park side of Cherrywood Village are the safest places to buy in Cherrywood today, with Mercer Vale our first choice for a normal family house.

The reason is fairly simple once we separate Cherrywood's different pockets. Mercer Vale already has completed streets, several years of occupation, access to the parks and Luas, and enough second-hand sales to show what ordinary buyers will actually pay. Tully Park, Cherry Lane and Tully Green have many of the same advantages.

The Town Centre has more potential to change. That gives it interesting upside, but it also leaves buyers more exposed to future construction, timing and developer decisions. Two large central sites have gone through fresh development processes this year: an 8.65-acre site marketed by CBRE and Savills with a €40 million guide, and the council-owned 13.3-acre Town Centre 3 site, where a new developer is being sought.

For someone asking where the fewest things can go wrong, we would buy where Cherrywood already works.

Cherrywood area	What buyers already have	Main risk left	Our safety ranking
Mercer Vale	Completed housing, resale history, parks, Luas access	More building around the wider district	1st
Tully Park / Cherry Lane / Tully Green	Park, schools, modern homes, Luas	Some newer phases still completing	2nd
Park Lane	Tully Park frontage, A2 homes, Luas	High new-build pricing	3rd
Tullyvale	Mature estate, strong Luas access, deep resale market	Building age and service charges	Best apartment option
Dolmen Lane / Brennanstown side	New homes, growing village	Less second-hand history	Good, less proven
Town Centre / Grand Parade	Luas, apartments, basic retail	Major development still ahead	Highest execution risk

Why is choosing the safest part of Cherrywood unusually tricky?

Cherrywood buyers are choosing between places that are physically close but sit at very different stages of development, so the best future location can easily be a riskier purchase today.

This is a big district. Cherrywood covers roughly 388 acres and is eventually meant to house more than 35,000 people. About 10,500 homes are planned across the wider scheme. Several pieces of that future already exist: Luas, large parks, schools, apartments and thousands of residents.

The centre remains much less settled. Earlier this year, DLR Properties sought a new developer for 13.3 acres at Town Centre 3 after an earlier agreement with Ronan Group Real Estate had ended. The land already has permission for 418 apartments, while the revised planning framework could allow around 1,150 homes alongside other town-centre uses.

Soon afterwards, Hines and King Street Capital put another 8.65-acre central site on the market for €40 million. An architectural feasibility study showed room for more than 600 apartments and roughly 30,000 sq m of retail, leisure and related uses.

Cherrywood therefore contains two very different bets. Around Mercer Vale and Tully Park, buyers are mostly judging a home and its price. Near the Town Centre, they are also judging what several large development sites will become.

That difference drives most of our ranking.

Has Cherrywood developed enough to stop being a speculative suburb?

Yes. Cherrywood now has enough real infrastructure and real residents that we can judge it as a functioning housing market, although the unfinished Town Centre still creates a lot of variation between streets.

The easiest way to see the change is to look at what people can use today. Tully Park, Beckett Park and Ticknick Park are open. The Green Line has stops at Cherrywood, Laughanstown and Brides Glen. Cherrywood Educate Together National School operates at Tully Park, and Blackrock Educate Together Secondary School is currently based there as well.

The primary school is growing quickly. Cherrywood ETNS reported about 220 pupils during the last school year and projected roughly 300 for the new school year. More tellingly for family demand, the school says all Junior Infant places for the new intake have already been allocated, with later applicants going onto a waiting list.

Transport has also become broader than Luas alone. The L14 bus was extended through Laughanstown and Cherrywood, linking the area with Shankill and Bray at roughly 30-minute intervals.

Meanwhile, more than 1,300 apartments have already been developed within the Town Centre area according to the latest development-market material.

We no longer have to guess whether people will live in Cherrywood. The remaining question is how much buyers should pay for the parts that are still catching up.

Cherrywood feature	Position today	How much uncertainty remains?
Green Line Luas	Operating	Very little
Tully, Beckett and Ticknick parks	Open	Very little
Cherrywood ETNS	Operating and growing	Low
Secondary-school presence	Operating at Tully Park	Some longer-term location uncertainty
L14 bus connection	Operating	Low
Existing Town Centre apartments	More than 1,300 delivered	Low
Full retail/leisure Town Centre	Still incomplete	High
Large central development sites	Still moving through development processes	High

Is Mercer Vale safer than buying a brand-new home at Park Lane?

Yes. Mercer Vale currently gives us more price evidence and less new-build premium risk than Park Lane, even though Park Lane has one of the best physical locations in Cherrywood.

The strongest advantage Mercer Vale has these days is its resale record. A three-bedroom semi-detached house at 8 Mercer Glen sold for €740,000 this year after asking €725,000. A 193 sq m four-bedroom at 3 Mercer Row sold for €952,221 after asking €915,000. A four-bedroom Mercer Avenue home had previously sold for €840,000.

Those transactions give buyers several reference points across house sizes instead of one developer price list.

Park Lane is still being sold as new stock. The current four-bedroom Kippure is priced at €995,000 for 178 sq m, or about €5,590 per sq m, with an A2 BER and a position overlooking Tully Park. The location is excellent, but a buyer close to €1 million has less room for error.

The comparison with Mercer Row is useful. Mercer Row achieved about €4,934 per sq m for a larger house. Park Lane is asking roughly 13% more per square metre. That premium buys a new A2 home and park frontage, but it also means the buyer is paying for those advantages immediately.

If Park Lane and Mercer Vale cost roughly the same for comparable homes, we could easily choose Park Lane. Once the new-build premium becomes six figures, Mercer Vale starts to look safer.

Example	Price	Size	Approx. €/m²	What we learn
Park Lane Kippure, current asking	€995,000	178 m²	€5,590	Premium new-build benchmark
Mercer Row 4-bed, sold	€952,221	193 m²	€4,934	Larger proven resale below Park Lane €/m²
Mercer Avenue 4-bed, sold	€840,000	143 m²	€5,874	Strong price for smaller established stock
Mercer Glen 3-bed, sold	€740,000	114 m²	€6,491	Smaller family homes remain expensive per m²
Tully Green 2-bed, sold	€615,000	86 m²	€7,151	Compact houses command the highest unit prices

Stuck somewhere in the process? Tell us where you're at.

Does living beside Tully Park really make a Cherrywood home safer to buy?

Yes. Tully Park is probably Cherrywood's strongest residential anchor because the park, schools and surrounding streets are already being used rather than waiting on a future masterplan.

That gives Cherry Lane, Tully Green and parts of Park Lane a very simple advantage. Buyers can see exactly what they are buying beside. A permanent landscaped park is much easier to value than undeveloped land whose eventual use, height and construction timetable still matter.

The school cluster adds another layer. Cherrywood Educate Together National School is at Tully Park and is expanding quickly. Blackrock Educate Together Secondary School also operates there today. The secondary school's permanent future building is still some years away, according to the school's own latest location update, so we would not treat its current Tully Park presence as permanent. The primary school is the stronger housing anchor.

Tully Park therefore works particularly well for families who want parks, a primary school and Luas within the same broad walkable area.

We would still watch the premium. A park-facing house is safer at €850,000 than at €1.05 million. Location can reduce resale risk, but it cannot rescue an obviously excessive purchase price.

Is Park Lane worth nearly €1 million now?

Park Lane is a very good Cherrywood address, but at €995,000 we would buy selectively rather than assume every new four-bedroom home there is a safe deal.

The current Kippure listing is fresh and gives us a useful benchmark: €995,000 for 178 sq m, A2-rated, overlooking Tully Park. The broader Park Lane range is currently advertised from about €605,000 up to €995,000 depending on property type.

At the top end, buyers have alternatives. Mercer Vale has already produced four-bedroom resales around €840,000, €950,000 and slightly above depending on size and street. That makes €995,000 plausible for the best Park Lane homes, although it leaves little obvious bargain.

A buyer paying the premium gets things we genuinely value: a new A2 property, a strong park position and several Luas stops within the wider walking catchment. Those are durable advantages.

We would be more careful with a Park Lane home that lacks the park aspect or has a weaker orientation but carries almost the same price. Once two houses are close to €1 million, small differences in light, garden, road exposure and permanent outlook become expensive differences.

Park Lane belongs near the top of our Cherrywood ranking. It just does not beat Mercer Vale automatically at today's prices.

Is Tully Green the safest way to buy a Cherrywood house on a smaller budget?

Tully Green is probably the best lower-budget house option around Cherrywood Village right now, although buyers pay a surprisingly high price for each square metre.

A two-bedroom end-of-terrace house at 10 Tully Green sold this year for €615,000 after asking €590,000. At 86 sq m, that works out at roughly €7,150 per sq m.

That is expensive floor space. The total purchase price is still far below the €800,000–€1 million needed for many larger Cherrywood Village houses, which is what makes Tully Green interesting.

A compact modern house can attract buyers who have outgrown apartments but cannot stretch to a large South Dublin family home. That gives Tully Green a fairly broad resale audience. The location near Tully Park adds another reason to choose it over a random small house elsewhere in the district.

We would worry more about paying €615,000 for a compromised two-bed with poor light or road exposure than about the development itself. The latest resale shows that demand exists; buyers now need to decide whether each individual property deserves the price.

Something here you're not sure about? Ask us, it's free.

Is Tullyvale still the safest place to buy an apartment in Cherrywood?

For a cautious apartment buyer, Tullyvale is currently our favourite part of Cherrywood because the estate has a mature resale market, excellent Luas access and a much lower entry price than the premium family houses nearby.

The latest sales give us better evidence than we had even a few months ago. A two-bedroom apartment at 146 The Oval sold for €350,000 this summer. Another two-bed at 84 The Oval sold for €370,000 earlier in the year. Apartment 12 in East Courtyard reached €436,000 after an asking price of €350,000, while a three-bedroom unit at 13 West Courtyard sold for €505,000 after asking €425,000.

Those are real resale prices across different blocks and layouts. Tullyvale has also been around long enough for buyers to see how the buildings, communal areas and management company behave over time.

The trade-off is age. Current listings show BER ratings ranging from around C to B depending on the apartment. A two-bedroom listing in The Oval has a 2026 service charge of €2,045, while several three-bedroom listings show annual charges around €2,900. Underground parking, lifts, landscaped grounds, a gym and swimming pool all cost money to maintain.

We would happily buy a good Tullyvale apartment after checking the owners' management company accounts, sinking fund and planned works. Those checks matter more here than choosing between two nearly identical kitchen finishes.

Tullyvale evidence	Recent level	What it tells us
The Oval 2-bed sold	€350,000	Entry-level resale market exists
The Oval 2-bed sold	€370,000	Similar stock has repeat pricing evidence
East Courtyard 2-bed sold	€436,000	Better/larger units can clear much higher
West Courtyard 3-bed sold	€505,000	Strong upper end for mature apartments
Current 2-bed service charge example	€2,045/year	Material but manageable ownership cost
Current 3-bed service charge examples	~€2,900/year	Larger units carry heavier annual costs

Is the unfinished Cherrywood Town Centre too risky to buy beside today?

For a buyer whose priority is safety, the unfinished Cherrywood Town Centre is the part we would approach most carefully today because so much of the local experience can still change.

The recent land activity shows the scale of what remains. DLR Properties sought a developer for the 13.3-acre Town Centre 3 site after the previous development agreement ended. The current planning position allows hundreds of homes, while the revised framework could support around 1,150 residential units plus substantial town-centre uses.

Another 8.65-acre core site has been marketed for €40 million. Its feasibility study envisages more than 600 apartments together with about 30,000 sq m of retail, leisure and related space.

Amendment No. 11 to the Cherrywood planning scheme has also moved through the formal process this year, reshaping the Town Centre and its surroundings. The central district is still being reworked rather than simply waiting for one final building to appear.

That could eventually make the Town Centre one of Cherrywood's best places to live. More shops, restaurants, services and residents would improve the whole district.

The issue for today's buyer is the amount of change between here and there. New blocks can affect views, traffic, noise and the character of individual streets. Construction can last for years. Commercial delivery can arrive later or in a different form from what purchasers originally pictured.

We like the Town Centre more as an upside play than as Cherrywood's safest purchase.

Are Cherrywood's schools and Luas strong enough to protect resale demand?

Yes. Cherrywood already has enough transport and family infrastructure to create durable resale demand around Mercer Vale, Tully Park and Tullyvale.

The Luas is the clearest anchor. Cherrywood, Laughanstown and Brides Glen are operating Green Line stops, giving the area a direct rail connection through Sandyford, Dundrum and central Dublin. Buyers do not have to price in a future metro or wait for a promised station.

Tullyvale is especially strong on this point. Current sales material for The Oval commonly puts Cherrywood Luas around a five- to ten-minute walk away depending on the block. Park Lane has access to the Laughanstown and Cherrywood side of the Green Line corridor.

Families now have more local evidence as well. Cherrywood ETNS has grown from a tiny new school into an operation with about 220 pupils last year and a projected 300 this year. Its Junior Infant allocation for the current intake is already full. Blackrock ETSS currently adds secondary provision at Tully Park, even though its eventual permanent location remains a separate issue.

The combination is useful. A home that can reach a park, primary school and Luas on foot gives another family several reasons to want it five or ten years from now.

Are Cherrywood house prices already too high to be safe?

Cherrywood is expensive enough that price discipline matters a lot now, but the latest sales still show a functioning market across several very different budgets.

Cherrywood-wide averages are messy because the district mixes small apartments, duplexes, new houses and very large family homes. Property Price Register-based data currently puts the year-to-date median around €503,000 across more than 100 Cherrywood transactions. The previous year's median was around €506,000.

We would be careful about reading that as evidence that Cherrywood prices are flat. A huge amount of new apartment stock has entered the transaction mix, which drags the overall median toward a different type of property. Individual house resales tell a much more useful story.

Mercer Glen reached €740,000. Mercer Row reached €952,221. Tully Green reached €615,000. Several Tullyvale apartments have traded between the mid-€300,000s and roughly €500,000. Park Lane is asking up to €995,000.

That spread is healthy for liquidity because Cherrywood can attract more than one buyer group. Someone priced out of a four-bedroom Mercer Vale house can still buy a two-bed Tullyvale apartment or compact house without leaving the district entirely.

The dangerous purchase today is more likely to be an overpriced individual unit than Cherrywood as a whole.

Approximate budget	Where we would look first	Main thing to watch
€350k–€450k	Tullyvale	OMC accounts, BER, service charge
€450k–€550k	Larger Tullyvale / selected apartment or duplex	Avoid paying new-build prices for ordinary stock
€550k–€650k	Tully Green / compact house	Very high €/m²
€700k–€800k	Mercer Vale 3-bed	Compare carefully with actual resales
€800k–€950k	Mercer Vale / Cherry Lane	Street and orientation matter more
€950k–€1m+	Park Lane / premium Mercer Vale	Very little margin for overpaying

Wondering if now's the time to buy in Ireland? Tell us your plan.

Should you buy a Cherrywood house rather than an apartment?

For long-term safety, we prefer a good Mercer Vale or Tully Park house when the buyer can comfortably afford it, while Tullyvale makes more sense when choosing a house would mean stretching the mortgage too far.

Cherrywood is still expected to add a lot of apartments. Town Centre 3 alone could ultimately accommodate roughly 1,150 homes under the revised framework, and the separate 8.65-acre central site has feasibility for more than 600 apartments.

That future supply gives buyers more choice, but it also means an ordinary two-bedroom apartment may eventually compete with hundreds of newer units.

Well-positioned family houses are harder to reproduce. A four-bedroom home beside established parkland, with a garden and reasonable Luas access, sits in a narrower supply pool.

Still, we would never turn that into a rule that buyers should stretch from a €400,000 apartment to a €900,000 house. Mortgage risk can overwhelm property-location advantages very quickly.

A well-bought Tullyvale apartment at €350,000–€450,000 can be a much safer personal purchase than a premium Cherrywood house that leaves the owner financially exposed.

Which exact Cherrywood streets and positions would we choose?

We would first look for established Mercer Vale streets or completed homes around Tully Park, then favour quiet positions with good light, a comfortable Luas walk and no obvious future construction directly outside the window.

Within Mercer Vale, the best purchase does not have to be the newest or largest house. We care more about a settled street, garden orientation, road noise and how easily a future buyer can understand the location.

Around Tully Park, Cherry Lane and Tully Green are strong. Park Lane becomes very attractive when the property genuinely overlooks the park and the premium remains sensible.

In Tullyvale, we would look closely at block position. A bright upper-floor or corner apartment with good orientation can be much easier to resell than a dark ground-floor unit even when both have the same number of bedrooms.

We would also check every open view against the Cherrywood SDZ plans. Empty land has little value as a "view" if that land is intended to carry a substantial building later.

The safest micro-location is usually one where most of the things you are paying for can already be seen.

Which Cherrywood properties would we avoid right now?

We would avoid overpriced Park Lane stock without a genuinely premium position, older Tullyvale apartments with weak management-company finances, and Town Centre homes whose asking price assumes nearby development will arrive quickly and exactly as buyers hope.

The first problem is easy to understand. Park Lane can justify a premium for park frontage, A2 efficiency and new construction. A weaker Park Lane position at nearly the same price gives us much less reason to pay close to €1 million.

Tullyvale requires a different check. The estate has strong resale evidence, but an apartment buyer should read the OMC accounts, sinking-fund figures, insurance information and recent AGM minutes. A mature apartment development can be a great purchase when it is well funded and an expensive one when large communal works have been postponed.

Near the Town Centre, we would be particularly suspicious of a supposed permanent open aspect across development land. Several large central parcels are still capable of substantial construction.

We would also walk every property-to-Luas route ourselves. Cherrywood has large roads, level changes and unfinished edges. A marketing description saying "close to Luas" can feel very different on a wet weekday morning.

So where is the safest place to buy in Cherrywood now?

Mercer Vale is our safest all-round Cherrywood choice today, with the established Tully Park pocket so close behind that we would happily switch between them for the better individual house.

Mercer Vale wins because we can already see the neighbourhood and the resale market working at the same time. Recent three- and four-bedroom sales have ranged from €740,000 into the €900,000s, giving buyers real comparisons. The parks, schools and Luas are already around it. Cherrywood's future Town Centre can still improve the area without being necessary for Mercer Vale to make sense.

Tully Park, Cherry Lane and Tully Green share most of those strengths. For the right park-facing house at a sensible price, we could prefer them. Park Lane also belongs in that top group physically, although the current €995,000 ceiling makes us more price-sensitive.

For apartments, Tullyvale is our defensive pick. Recent two- and three-bedroom sales now give us a much clearer resale range, while Cherrywood Luas is already within an easy walk of much of the estate.

We would put the Town Centre lower for a cautious buyer today. Its long-term prospects could be excellent, perhaps even better than Mercer Vale's in percentage terms if the commercial heart of Cherrywood is built out successfully. There are simply more moving parts between today's neighbourhood and that outcome.

So our hierarchy is clear: Mercer Vale first, established Tully Park streets essentially alongside it, Park Lane when the premium makes sense, and Tullyvale for apartment buyers. The best Cherrywood purchase today is still the home that works well even if the rest of the masterplan takes longer than expected.

Fact-checked and reviewed by our local expert

✓✓✓

Anthony McCann 🇮🇪

Co-Founder, FindQo.ie

Anthony McCann co-founded FindQo.ie to make property searching easier and smarter in Dublin. He recognised the growing demand for a modern solution in the city’s busy housing market. FindQo.ie helps Dubliners find places to buy, rent, or share—whether it’s a home or commercial space. The platform offers a smooth and helpful experience for anyone looking to move in Dublin.

Who is the author of this content?

INVESTROPA

A team researching how property purchases actually go wrong across Europe

We are a team of real estate researchers and local specialists focused on helping people avoid expensive mistakes when buying property abroad, particularly in Dublin. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can check our presentation page.