THERE’S builder’s finish and then there’s a finish by a builder. Big difference.

Rose Martin reports on an aptly-named makeover of a former stables.

YOU get the best of both worlds with this four-bed house at 25 The Drive, Killeens, just a five minute drive from booming Blackpool where everything is to hand and a further five minutes from Cork city.

The drought of house-buying options at the Paddocks in Douglas, Cork, is well and truly over.

ABOUT 90% there is the finish state of 9 Ard Cuain, a big dormer bungalow on a quarter-acre Cork Harbour site.

RECORD prices achieved in an estate usually have the effect of spurring on other owners to put up the boards.

TAKING in the views of the ocean sitting on your patio is an affordable option.

THE pictures and brochure suggest it, and the house itself proves it: 50 Chestnut Meadows is a family home par excellence.

A large back garden is a selling point of 30, Ardfield Crescent, a Fleming Construction scheme in the Cork suburb of Grange, on the edge of Douglas.

A SOLID, mid-terrace house is on offer through Property Choice: 38 Belmont Avenue, Upper Rochestown, Cork.

A FORMER barn was part of the grand design for this newly crafted house at South Ridge, Ballyfeard, south Cork.

A MOVE Down Under has brought The Gables, in Cork’s Glanmire, to the market, where a buyer might make profitable use of the summer lull.

A house that could be a trading-up option for families in the Glanmire area near Cork city has a €450,000 price guide. White Rose is a well-kept detached bungalow, near the Brook Inn.

RUMOURS abound that a house which cost in the region of €1.3 million in Hettyfield, Douglas this year is to be knocked and rebuilt. It had a guide price of €850,000 through Peter Cave of HOK.

THE rather horsey name for the south city estate, The Paddocks, on Cork’s Maryborough Hill is not just an affectation.

THE word bijou (meaning small and elegant) might have been coined to describe Dundanion Cottage. The smart, two-bedroomed house has an equally smart Blackrock Road address, a renovated interior - brightened by a large roof light - and a private, south-facing back garden.

PETER KELLY doesn't hide who he is - he's one of very few Irish politicians who are openly gay. And, if you take Kinsey's assessment that 10% of us are also gay, then he's that other rare thing - an honest politician.

PRICED at just under the million euro mark, give or take a few shillings, this chunky 2,500 sq ft family dormer home has a breadth of views across the mouth of Cork harbour.

BUILT in the seventies when rooms sizes and site sizes were generous, No. 69 Frankfield is a detached house in a good location close to Douglas.

CLOSE to Blarney, which is set to go from village to town in the next ten years, number 10, Laureston Avenue, Tower is a four bed, detached on the market at €330,000.

TWO detached properties are on offer in Glanmire, Co Cork, at the moment in the Glyntown area.

LAST in and best dressed is a description that might fit Gatelodge House, the just-finished detached home, with an asking price of €600,000, on Cork’s Castle Road.

JOINTLY for sale with two ERA offices, this house at Ballingarrane, Shanagarry is newly listed with local agent, William Wallace, and city-based, Jeremy Murphy, of Downey McCarthy Murphy.

RIVERSTICK is part of the new style of residential growth in the greater Cork area.

DETACHED and with four bedrooms and a generous site, this house at number 27, Gleann na Rí could be lucky second time around for a buyer in Cork city.

THERE are two schools of thought when it comes to the buying of houses — those that like old, and those that like new.

THERE was a lot of consideration given to the fixtures and fittings of this house at 14, Rosehill in Carrigaline, Co Cork.

JUST a few little things remain to be done at Coolowen, Blarney, Co Cork, where this 2,000 square foot house is now up for sale.

This house in Frankfield, Cork, has been put on the market for €340,000.

THE site is the key at 23 Allendale - it's a whopper.

THERE are just eight of these detached houses in a small estate off the Ballea Road in Carrigaline, Co Cork.

Maryville is a mature estate in Ballintemple that’s just a walk to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the Atlantic Pond. In one of Cork city’s more desirable locations, the estate is close to town, Douglas and the link road system.

Libermann on Murmont Ave in Montenotte has lots of space for a family and lovely views of the city below, €315,000.

IT started at €295,000, has an offer of €300,000, but auctioneer, Michael Downery of ERA Downey McCarthy Murphy expects 1, Castleowen in Blarney, Co Cork to go to €320,000 or thereabouts.

‘LET the market decide’ — that’s the pitch taken by auctioneer, Jeremy Murphy with regard to a smart, infill development at Parkgate in Frankfield, Cork.

NUMBER 8 Foxwood Drive has a lovely location — not just because it’s in the leafier end of Rochestown or because it’s in a low-density estate, but because of where it sits in Foxwood.

THE first of the houses for resale at Maryborough Woods is on the market. The new firm, ERA Downey McCarthy Murphy, is handling the sale of number 33, Ryecroft.

PROPERTY franchise agency ERA has signed up new members in both Cork county and Cork city, adding to its nationwide spread now with 46 offices.