This scores an A-plus for location, infrastructure and amenities

ASK any auctioneer about the market at the moment and they will say that location is now the strongest marker for a successful sale.

The property market is cooling at a very slow rate, but buyers are already becoming more mindful in their purchase pattern.

This is especially so in the mid to upper range bracket where the old adage that the day you buy is the day you sell is carrying more weight.

Carrig Avon on Cork’s Douglas Road is a sturdy three-bed being sold with vacant possession and it has an ideal position close to the village and its shopping centres.

You can’t get a better location in terms of infrastructure and amenities which is why properties are always in demand in Douglas/Blackrock.

Tom Woodward has given a guide price of €500,000 for Carrig Avon and says it has 1,100 sq feet, with room for an addition. It also has new PVC windows, a full alarm system and multichannel cabling, but will need a complete makeover.

Structurally, it appears to be very sound, says Mr Woodward, and it has that important extra, a full southerly aspect to the rear.

Because it has fine big windows and bays off the living room and master bedroom, this is a bright house. The main reception rooms average out at 14’ by 12’ for the dining and sitting rooms and the kitchen hasn’t been amended since it was built. It comes with light oak units and measures 12’ by 9’ with a larder and pantry.

The master bedroom is en suite, surprisingly for the vintage of the house, and bedrooms two and three are good doubles. With the demand for up to five bedrooms in modern properties, it’s likely new owners will add to the existing structure, although at the €500,000-plus asking price this would not make Carrig Avon a cheap buy. But, then, it is Douglas, after all.