Blarney new-builds set to begin

Location: Blarney, Cork

THE customer is king, or queen, when it come to house buying at Drom Slí, in Blarney’s Courtbrack. Builders O’Leary and O’Sullivan start five new-builds in early December, with a June/July finish date, and buyers checking out the houses now get to have a say in interior design, and interior layout, with personal ideas and adaptations welcome.

So says OLOS selling agent Donal Cronin, who says three of the five detached houses going on site have been sale agreed: they include a buyer for the five-bed 2,885 sq ft type, priced at €325,950.

OLOS/Colman O’Leary and Michael O’Sullivan’s Blarney scheme, starting with five houses (effectively built to order) with scope for eight or 10 more houses with further land for future plannings, is designed by well-regarded architects Deady Gahan, and follows on a nearly 16-house scheme Tulach Rua with broadly similar homes, so intending buyers can call there for a reassuring look-see of what Drom Slí will entail and plan and tweak accordingly, adds Mr Cronin. There are three house types on offer, two four-bed sizes (1,698 and 2,265 sq ft) and a bigger five-bed. Each will hit an A3 BER rating with solar panels and wood- burning stoves, and they are air-tight traditional masonry builds, with 10-year building guarantee.

Buying inquiries are coming from a wide background, from first time buyers who’ve waited and saved, and so are stepping straight into first buys of a four-bed detached, as well as professionals in IT firms like Apple. EMC and VMWare, given the easy access from Blarney, Ballincollig and Cork City.

VERDICT: New, large homes, that you can tweak to taste. The builders and selling agent will be on site 2-4 pm this weekend.