Trading up: Coachford, Lee Valley, Cork €395,000

Sq m: 293 (3,140 sq ft)

Big, then bigger again — that’s the quality Coachford home at Monareagh. Called The Beeches, the house is a 25-minute commute up the Lee Valley, from Cork City and its suburbs.

Extended and upgraded, on a wedge-shaped, one-acre site above the road, it measures 3,100 sq ft and is at least double the size of the house it was initially.