Starter homes: Clonakilty, West Cork €239,000

Size: 130 sq m (1,400 sq ft)

The bedrooms tally at No 2 Chestnut Meadows might be modest, with just three rooms on offer, but the floor area is generous at 1,400 sq ft, and other bonuses with the Clonakilty town home is the fact it’s detached, is on a very decent size of about one-fifth of an acre, and there’s an attached garage, ready and prime for conversion and integration as further living space.

Built about 20 years ago in a scheme of 10 houses on Clon’s western fringes, and ranged around a shared green, No 2’s a home ready to be brought to a new level for private, family occupation.

Estate agent Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde guides it at €239,000 and predicts it won’t be on the market very long at that level as the setting is very family-friendly, and the site capable of taking extensions in almost any direction.

At that €239k level, it will have a wide buying appeal, he feels, as it’s affordable enough for a range of first time buyers, or re-locaters to West Cork, and it’s a house that can grow over the coming years too.

Internally, it’s on the dated side but even a decor overhaul will bring it up the contemporary curve a bit for immediate occupation.

Rooms include two reception rooms to the front, facing west, and an L-shaped kitchen/dining, and internal joinery is in hardwood.

VERDICT: A good amount of space, inside and out, in a well-served coastal town.