Bungalow in proximity to Mahon development

EAST of Cork city, at the boundary with the harbour by Mahon, is Eden Court — a private niche housing development built in the 1980s and set to benefit from the area’s current economic uplift.

Up to E500 million is being invested in Mahon Point by O'Callaghan Properties and McCarthy Properties, in a mixed development with Debenhams, Tescos and, possibly, B&Q to draw the crowds, as well as cinemas, hotel and other uses.

The cheapest residential units currently at the residential component, called Jacob's Island, is E250,000 for a 820 sq ft two-bed townhouse.

Already built, and nearly E100,000 cheaper however, is 22 Eden Court, a two-bed semi-detached bungalow on the market with Mark Kelly of Hamilton Osborne King.

He says the c 700 sq ft home has been tastily decorated, with solid wood floors, largely open-plan living area layout and a good attention to decor, and it has a wooden deck out in the back garden to take the sea air.

The neighbour has extended up into the attic, and this is an option too for the new owner of no 22. The vendors who upgraded the property during their years here are moving as their family is growing beyond its confines.

With an affordable E160,000 guide, it is perfectly pitched at first time buyers watching the financial bottom line, and it also could be close to self-financing for an investor who could expect a rent of E650 a month, plus strong capital appreciation once Mahon Point is up and running.

There's good and swift access to the link road, Lee tunnel and Mahon Point, to Mahon Technology Park and the National Software Centre and to the settled suburbs of Douglas and Blackrock.

There's an amenity harbour walk closeby, and the beguiling Castle Road starts just by the entrance to Eden Court, and a short walk away is Blackrock Castle, currently under restoration wraps and set to become an observatory as Cork City Council reaches to the stars.