Pairc na gCrann scheme price slashes part of trend

UNLESS properties are in a bullet-proof setting, price slashing is the only way to get rid of built and unsold stock.

Case in point is the bite-the- bullet reduction on remaining stock in the north Cork scheme, Pairc na gCrann, Glanworth, where remaining, finished four/five bed detached houses are being cleared for sale at €250,000. That for a detached, with 1,642 sq ft of space, with fitted kitchens, high energy ratings, four finished bedrooms and easy scope for a fifth.

“I’ve told the developers they had to create a whole new market to sell out the rest of the scheme, and I think we’re doing that by these prices,” says auctioneer Darragh Taaffe, of Keane Mahony Smith.

He has 14 out of 65 houses left to sell her in Glanworth, which has a good mix of new and existing housing stock, some fine period properties, prosperous farms, rich archaeological remains and a solid community core.

Glanworth is 10-minute drive from Fermoy, off the beaten-track main Cork-Dublin road but not remote. It is easy to get to and from Cork city via the new, tolled town bypass. Mr Taaffe reckons it is only a 25-minute drive from the Jack Lynch tunnel (if you’re anxious about penalty points, you might want to add a few more minutes’ to that commute time).

House hunters lured by the square footage on offer for the price will find finished stock, ready to view, in the development, filling a few level fields, with westerly views off to the Nagle Mountains.

The four-beds for €250,000 have a front living room, and double doors to a dining area, which opens the full width of the house to an extended fitted kitchen. There’s an attached garage, with utility behind, and this is set up for easy bedroom conversion, while attics also have conversion potential.

The scheme was built by consortium Fourcon Developments, and a couple of detached, 1,176 sq ft three beds are on offer for €190,000, with similar-sized semis negotiable.

In the current market, pricing appears to be the key to moving sale in slower locations: in Clondulane, Fermoy, three-bed terraced houses priced at €160,000 are selling well, since re-priced last month with estate agent, Matt Fallon of FML.

* And, in Meath, agents T & J Gavigan Real Estate Alliance and Andrews dropped the prices for homes in Athlumney Wood, Johnstown, Navan, by 45/50% from 2007 boom-time peaks, and reported 25 sales within three days.

Two-bed, 68 sq metre apartments sold at €129,950, and larger, 76 sq metre (810 sq ft) sold for €149,950. Three-bed semis sold at €175,000.

“In our opinion, this is the bottom of the market,” agent Michael Gavigan said. “These properties were sold at cost of construction, or less.”