Coast is clear to buy a home by the sea

ONE million euro is a price ‘trader-up’ buyers may soon regard as standard, but this coastal Cork home, with an asking price of €950,000, is only being sold because its owner has bought more expensive property nearby.

Built two years ago, this stone-faced home is the kind that gives the ubiquitous dormer design a good name, with feature roof barges, large windows and slate tiles.

Set at Kinure, Oysterhaven, a few miles east of Kinsale, it is the third, consecutive quality home in this sought-after locale to hit the 2005 summer market. The house is within easy commute of Cork city and the airport. The first of the three was the Anchorage, a 1980s home designed by O'Riordan Staehli architects on a seashore acre, which sold for 1.6m via O'Neill estate agents in Kinsale. The second home along the same seaside strip with SWS Property Services is at Kinure, Oysterhaven. It is set on 2.5 acres with a €2.2m price.

Water-frontage gives those homes their high values. Though the house featured in this article measures 2,300 square feet, its lower price, of €950,000, is due to its lack of water frontage but it does have unobstructed sea and inlet views. O'Neills are the estate agents.

The house is on a site of two-thirds of an acre, beyond Walton Court restaurant and the thriving Oysterhaven marine and outdoor pursuit centre.

Accommodation includes four bedrooms, two at ground level and two more overhead (one of which is en suite).

The staircase is finely-crafted pale oak. Finishes include stone, Italian tiles and quality timbers and joinery, and the kitchen/dining has an attractive painted set of units and patio access.

The dining area has high ceilings with wood finishes and tall glazing, and sea views that take in a scenic sweep of vista that includes Ringville, Rathmore woods and Ballymaccus creek, where a new PGA golf course and holiday complex is in for planning permission. The dining area leads to a sun room with double doors and a well-laid out split-level patio and BBQ.

Strong interest is expected given the location, views, quality of build and the scarcity of planning permissions in the vicinity.