Spectacular Wood House price drops below €1m

THE price guide for wonderful Wood House, on a wooded hillside site at Curraleigh overlooking the Inniscarra dam in Cork, has been dropped below the €1 million price level.

The spectacularly sited one-off home hit the market in late Spring with a price guide of €1.25 million. Now, though, joint agents Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald and Michael H Daniels are quoting “offers in excess of 950,000.”

The house when launched on the market got extensive media coverage, in national and Sunday papers, as well as on the TV programme House Hunters, but despite a circle of architectural admiration hasn’t yet found the right buyer.

Viewing interest included some Cork medics, with a handful hovering over the market over the Summer and at least two c1 million sales knocked down to consultants since Spring. Also looking at the house were some viewers returning to Ireland from the US.

The Summer past was notable for the volume of 1 million-plus Cork houses coming up for sale. With choice strong and varied, and just a limited number of buyers with sufficiently deep pockets, quite a few now remain on the market.

So, the re-pricing of Wood House is likely to stimulate interest once more in the quieter selling season.

Finished within the last year to the very highest of standards, the 3,750 sq ft house has accommodation on three levels, and is on a site of about two acres, with remote control electronic gate access.

It has ISDN broadband connection and a heavily wired and sophisticated top floor home office, an alarm system, and extensive terraces and balconies to maximise the aspect and the views.

Coming up to the winter, the impact of the water flows over the Inniscarra dam will be maximised, with leaves off the trees for an even better view and even sound.

Design is by architect James Leahy, who created an individual house with five bedrooms and flow of main reception rooms around a dramatic double height hall, including a drawing room, living room, dining room and stylish kitchen.

The specification is unstinting, including a luxurious lower ground level main bathroom with whirlpool bath, curved stained glass wall and separate shower room, and there is a sauna off the guest bathroom.

The property is relatively maintenance free and could well be used by someone who doesn’t plan to be in occupation all year around.