Rydal high in the upper end of the property market

There are plenty of strokes left in the Irish property market, but the house Rydal pulls some of the best — a cracking Cork location, detached house status, and enough room in its grounds for a Big Brother-like pool.

The mid-1900s four-bed home of around 2,000 sq ft is on the main Blackrock Road, at the city end: ‘nuff said for many, but it will take bids, if not votes, over the e1.2 million guide price mark to ‘evict’ the vendors.

Selling agent is Jarlath Boyd of Hamilton Osborne King, who admits there’ll be huge interest in this prospective purchase, particularly given the €1.8 million or so that HOK secured this summer in selling a larger, newer house nearby in the Lindville development of Victorian-styled homes.

And, HOK also got a very strong e10.7 million for six acres of residential development land at Cleve Hill, almost directly to the back of Rydal, and that site might now be the focus for a scheme of upmarket detached houses via purchasers Howard Holdings. Nearby, HOK reportedly got offers of over €1.25 million for a detached house on mature grounds, in need of a total re-build following a fire, but the agents declined to confirm any details.

So much for the backdrop; now back to Rydal and its €1.2 million-plus guide.

The house already has extensions to the ground level, so the best of space is at this level, which includes a 20’ by 18’ kitchen/dining room, a sitting room (both with French doors to the gardens), study and a family room. And, there’s a hall and guest loo as well.

Overhead, Rydal has four bedrooms, and a family bathroom, so new owners may look to extend a bit at first floor level for more bedrooms, bathrooms and dressing rooms, all now the ‘must-haves’ for upper end houses

The real attractions are the location so close to the city centre, the privacy of the walled-in site, lots of parking, plus a detached garage, and the pool to chill out in after a successful dip in the market.