Prayers are answered for Glen Corrin developer

“CAN you call back, I’m just selling a house?” said builder Alan Bardsley when the Irish Examiner buzzed him on Monday last.

We, of course, dropped the phone (you’d hardly begrudge a few pence phone call to any good builder these days, when there’s a chance of a sale,) and when we made contact again half an hour later a deal was done, the second sale in a matter of days, all before a showhouse officially opens this weekend.

Builder Alan Bardsley wasn’t spoofing; the property market mightn’t be in full flow but it has a pulse and he’s scored a few good sale successes with his Glen Corrin, Watergrasshill development on the Cork-Fermoy road.

It might be just a coincidence but the fact he has integrated a grotto on the roadside here on the old Cork-Dublin road into his development just might have something to do with having prayers answered. What helps is a good location 10 minutes from the Jack Lynch Tunnel, an A-rated concrete build and well-finished, fully fitted homes along with just-reduced prices.

Alan Bardsley is finishing up the first phase, 35 houses of what’s to be a 61-house scheme in all, and has 22 sold, sorry, that’s 23 as of Monday last. That’s when the latest buyer, from Passage West across the Lee tunnel, had just put down a €5,000 deposit on a detached three-bed, 1,650 sq ft bungalow, for €350,000. Sales started off the plans last year, and as the first buyers moved in last week, prices got trimmed back again, by between €20 and €40,000.

Now, three-bed semis of 1,070 sq ft are down from €299,500 to €275,000, the four-bed semis of 1,244 sq ft have dropped €20k from €339,000 to €299,000 and 1,540 sq ft four-bed detacheds are down from €399,500 to €380,000.

Showhouses of the two semi-detached varieties go on show this weekend, with agent Michael O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald O’Donovan in charge of sales, and he says key selling points are the A3 energy rating, typically cutting heating bills in half, the specification and the finishes, and the fact they’re fully fitted out with tiling, flooring, appliances, fitted wardrobes, patios, with fully walled in rear and front seeded gardens.

“We feel the product is still right and the location too is very accessible. We have continued to have strong interest even since Christmas with a lot of people waiting for the showhouse and I think they won’t be disappointed. Last week the first sale closed in the development and the family have now moved in, with two more due to move in the next few weeks, and there’ll be over a dozen before the summer holidays,” he added.