Behold beautiful Baltimore bliss

A bunch of houses and apartments are on offer in this trendy West Cork village Tommy Barker reports

After a long wait for those looking to buy in chi-chi Baltimore village there are a number of houses being put up for sale at prices that are going to suit young buyers, traders-down, and holiday-home hunters.

Coming to market, as part of a receivership process, are 22 fully finished, and fully furnished, units in the 52-unit scheme Mariner’s Cove on the edge of the West Cork tourism and sailing magnet.

On offer are three two-bed apartments, priced at €80,000 each, six detached 1,670 sq ft four-beds, priced at €235,000, and 13 three-bed townhouses, most of them 1,370 sq ft, priced at €135,000 a pop, and a couple of larger townhouses at €150k-plus.

They’re individually up for sale with joint agents Maeve McCarthy of Charles P McCarthy in Skibbereen, and all-in via Peter O’Flynn of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald in Cork City.

The Mariner’s Cove scheme was started in 2003, with plans for a 190-berth marina and a 40-bed hotel (both unbuilt, and now with planning lapsed) and 14 of the 52 houses had S23 tax-breaks for renting.

Houses have electric central heating, double glazing, master bedrooms en-suite, and Baltimore’s piers and slips are a few minutes’ walk, as are bars, restaurants, seasonal swells and ferries to Sherkin Island and Cape Clear.

VERDICT: The sale of 22 homes in Mariners’ Cove may add to the year-round population