Superb views a bonus with these hillside properties

HOT on the heels of a local €1.5 million house sale comes ‘Leeview’ on the Clogheen road in Cork.

A modest-looking dwelling, it has 1,750 sq ft of space, (including its integrated garage), and sits on a site of two-thirds of an acre.

The four-bedroom house was built in the late eighties, says Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy and Co: “It’s a fine house. The views are superb and uninterrupted and it’s out, but still very close to the city.

In fact, it’s less than 10 minutes drive to the main institutions on the western suburbs and in good traffic, commuters can be in the city centre in 15 minutes.

However, the views are going to be one of the big selling points here — they sweep over the Lee Fields to the southern hills of Cork city. The lights at night are even more spectacular, especially in the bleak mid-winter.

There’s plenty of scope here for extending and upgrading, and, although Denis Guerin pooh-poohs the notion of a demolition job, the locals-only clause could see ‘outsiders’ looking to maximise on the site’s potential by building in its stead.

At the guide of €585,000, that’s not a cheap site, but for a house and its acreage, it’s not bad, particularly as sales in this location are rare.

There is one other property on the market in Clogheen at the moment and it reflects the high price level of the area.

The farmhouse at Mount Desert, a period detached property, is on the market for offers in the region of €1.2 million through Micheal O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald. The five-bedroom house has 2,000 sq ft of space and a site of half an acre: the property is immaculately-maintained and includes a two-car garage, as well as superb views.

Leeview, meanwhile, comes with four bedrooms, including an ensuite master, two living rooms and a kitchen with utility. The entrance is via a shared lane off the Clogheen road and Leeview has private gardens to the side, front and rear.

A steep pitch downwards from Clogheen leads to the Lee Road where auctioneer, Andrew Moore has just sold a 1960s property in the exclusive, Rosanna enclave.

A sheltered and utterly private group of one-off houses, Rosanna is called after the period house of the same name. Located on a high perch over the Lee Valley, Beech Hill has just been sold for over its guide, at about €1.5 million.

With just under an acre of ground, the house is a two-storey, split-level with a full-south aspect.

So it’s good news, not only for the vendor, the agent and the purchaser, but also for the market.