An unholy bidding war

THE ADDRESS alone carries cache as well as a mercenary and snob value, ever before you pace out the 4,000 sq ft of space on a three-quarter acre site in Douglas in Cork.

The former Church of Ireland rectory, likely to be called The Old Rectory in its new incarnation, is to be auctioned on December 11. Given the shortage of good and period homes in the area, an unholy bidding war can be expected.

Dating from the late 1800s, the rectory is being sold on 0.7 of an acre; it currently stands on a larger site but a section is to be kept back to build a new rectory on, while a lower section of the site is being offeredor one new dwelling. Estate agent Peter Cave of CB Hamilton Osborne King gives the rectory a guide price ‘in excess of €700,000,’ but may be setting the bar a bit low given the anticipated interest in such a superb location.

The adjoining site of half an acre is also to be auctioned, guided at over €250,000.

The rectory is at the foot of Carr’s Hill, just on the edge of Douglas, a few hundred yards from the new garda station and Fingerpost roundabout.

Its site is elevated, with views down over Douglas village and the city beyond, plus it has the two Douglas churches squarely in its sights, as well as the two cathedrals of commerce and the two Douglas shopping centres.

The Douglas rectory, built to a familiar floor plan devised by the Church of Ireland Temporalities Board, is, in fact, larger than many of its ilk, with generous-sized rooms, an extended wing out the back, and a section of enclosed courtyard with lofted buildings and a cobbled yard.

It has three reception rooms plus a smaller family room, there’s a large hall and inner hall, a large kitchen with Aga, several back rooms, stores, a ground floor bedroom plus five overhead bedrooms, and the bathroom which is on a stairs return.

While quite sound, the buildingwill need some upgrading and decorative work, as well as a new kitchen.

The upper end of the market is currently strong in Cork city with supply limited, saysPeter Cave.

This week he had an Edwardian house at Ardfoyle, Ballintemple, close to a sale at €650,000, while Kilbrin, a detached house in Douglas’s Woodview Park, went over €800,000 in bids. A detached house in the Paddocks scheme near the rectory in Douglas would now make well over 550,000, says Mr Cave, by way of price comparison.