Affordable apartments pitched at investors and first-time buyers

Midleton Drury’s Mews properties are yours for €85,000 each, Tommy Barker reports.

With €100 million being invested in the East Cork town of Midleton’s distillery for a new Jameson production facility, there should be a kick to the local economy. And, perhaps also, to the local property and rental market.

Pitching a small number of affordable apartments at investors and first-time buyers, estate agent Michael Creedon, who’s part of the DNG franchise, reckons buyers will get their money back on these €85,000 Drury’s Mews purchases in jig time — about 10 years, based on €700 per month rentals.

“Any investor with cash looking to cash in on the ongoing expansion at Jameson whiskey had better act fast as we have very strong expressions of interest in what’s available,” he comments of the three 700 sq ft units he’s currently offering in the niche, eight-unit development.

Each of the town centre two-bed (one en suite) apartments has its own designated parking space, with lift and stair access to the block of eight above, floors are timber and tile, they have balconies, utility rooms and all are being sold fitted and furnished. That means down to white goods, leather sofas, beds, toasters, and perhaps a whisky glass or two for a toast to Midleton’s distilled good fortune.

VERDICT: Cheaper to buy than to build, money safely bedded down in bricks and mortar at a time of financial and currency uncertainty and highly rentable if you don’t want to live there yourself.