House prices have increased by more than 80% from their lowest point in 2013.

IT PAYS to keep both ears, and eyes, open, if and when at home at this three-acre, wildlife-friendly spot at West Cork’s unusually titled Three-Gneeves.

House-hunting is a curious blend of agony and ecstasy. Some of us find the myriad of box-ticking extremely stressful — but then again who doesn’t love a good excuse to pore over the property pages, lust after those must-haves in glossy interiors spreads and oh-so-casually stop by auctioneer’s windows during our evening stroll?

A raffle for an apartment in Cork has seen ticket sales from as far afield as Canada and Australia, according to organisers.

More than 600,000 people in Ireland live in poor housing conditions with leaks, damp or rot while almost two million housing units will require retrofitting, according to Engineers Ireland.

Westview on the North Mall in Lismore isn’t historic just because the Duke of Devonshire built it in the 1820s – it’s also a little historic because its barn used to be the Popcorn Palace where local film buffs and courting couples came to watch movies.

The famed wedding planner is reluctantly parting with this charming West Cork home, says Tommy Barker.

A Cork landlord has revealed a house he owns had to be gutted after rubbish was left in every room.

One of West Cork's most glorious wild beaches, the Long Strand near Clonakilty and Rosscarbery is having a bit of a 'moment in the sun', it would seem.

Ripples from Brexit are causing long-time residents of Ferrybank to set a new course in life across the channel, hears Tommy Barker.

Tommy Barker says it’s sunny side up for this detached large corner site property with architect-tweaked sunroom in Mount Oval Village.

Let’s see what’s out there for under €20, with style and a touch of spring.

All the hard work is done on this top-notch, A-rated family home, says Tommy Barker.

Helen Kelleher turns the key at No 6 Mansfield Park to find a well-designed four-bed in immaculate condition.

Kilcrea is a place that appeals inside, outside and location wise. And there is still a little room to expand, writes Tommy Barker.

Despite a €5m tag, there’s a quiet air of confidence about Seafield’s sale prospects, writes Tommy Barker.

Tommy Barker on the many plusses of a detached family home in a wooded setting overlooking Drake’s Pool.

We scan a selection of trading up homes in city and country...

A traditional fisherman’s ‘cottage’ pushes the boat out in one of Kinsale’s most desirable addresses, says Tommy Barker.

Right now, on the food front, West Cork’s Ballydehob is having what can only be described as ‘a moment’, even if the area between Schull and Skibbereen has had a very long, and noble, tradition of high regard for food.

An Edwardian shop addition to a Victorian terrace has been tastefully converted, with an apartment on each floor, writes Trish Dromey.

First-time buyer activity and spend is up, reports Trish Dromey.

Changes are finally afoot over the back wall of 13 Rathmore Lawn, a pretty ‘standard issue’ three-bed semi-d, built in the mid-1900s and which has, ever since it was first built, had acres of farmland alongside and an ancient cobbled courtyard and stabling to its rear.

This remote quaint two-bed has views of, and is within earshot, of the waterfall at Kerry’s Gleninchaquin, writes Trish Dromey.

Trio of new-builds at St Luke’s Cross may be among the city’s most engaging sales of 2019, says Tommy Barker.

Staying in someone else’s house can be an etiquette minefield. There is so much scope to disrupt their lives. Bring a gift, be undemanding, and eat what you’re served, says Kya de Longchamps.

In the same family’s possession since 1999, Tommy Barker says the hi-spec home was reconfigured during the post-Celtic Tiger slump.

No 2 Tuloch Beag – home to a family of eight – has been tried, and truly tested, and still comes through, shining and robust and well-presented: so says Savills Cork estate agent Lawrence Sweeney, of this detached property, built about 12 years ago, and since extended.

Richview House in Kilkenny has all the Georgian grandeur you would expect from a property which was built as the residence of the 17th Earl of Ormond.

After a ‘down-time’ hiatus Kinsale Convent Garden scheme is finally delivering on heavenly views, says Tommy Barker.

Tommy Barker looks at a comfortable and stylish home in the west-ish Cork village of Innishannon.

House price surveys are starting to show what property market observers have been feeling for some months – price growth is moderating.

Unlived in for a decade this ‘Edwardian’ project deserves a Renaissance, says Tommy Barker.

Two friends of mine do something they’ve long dreamed of. They buy some land in rural south west Portugal, pack up their urban lives, and drive to their remote hillside in a big truck

Witness to many momentous events, in war and peace, The Retreat is now a stunning family home,with a near-private beach, writes Tommy Barker.

EBS has cut its mortgage rates for first-time house buyers.

Love it or loathe it, housework has to be done and having followed one guru’s advice only to find herself needing what she had thrown away, Carol O’Callaghan reflects on the wisdom of cleaning gurus.

No, not all semis are equal — and Nos 1 and 2 Sunlea in Clonakilty prove that point.

Tommy Barker visits a spacious period home in Cork that’s been underpinned and gently modernised.

AIB has called for tax breaks for developers, incentives for private landlords, encouragement for empty-nesters to move homes, and extending the lifespan of the help-to-buy scheme in order to accelerate housebuilding and lower rental costs across the country, writes Pádraig Hoare.

A homeless man who used his last 20 dollars to fill up the car of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia has bought a home with some of the nearly $400,000 raised for him by the woman he helped.

My London sister has just moved into a new apartment with her girlfriend of two years. My mother is thrilled that my sister “is now finally settled with a partner who is not only nice and wholesome but also understands about things like expensive storage solutions, cleaning services and Pledge”.

The Goop Lab, sprung from Gwyneth Paltrow’s website, in California takes interior design to a new level of affluence, writes Carol O’Callaghan.

They’ve a hearse outside — meet the Irish family who are set to give the Addams family a run for their money this Halloween.

The blaze broke out on the Grayacre Road in Dundalk in the early hours of this morning.

Robbie, 33, and Ciarán, 30, have both been homeless since their teens.

A key issue for our economy for the next decade is that of housing. There are reportedly 7,000 homeless people on our streets and there are tens of thousands of others living in highly expensive glorified squats.

The average first-time buyer now has a deposit of almost €50,000.