Starter home: Tivoli, Cork €170,000

Apartment market shows signs of price recovery, says Tommy Barker.

Sq m 78 (850 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2

BER: C1

Built around the millennium year, apartments at the Tivoli Woods scheme in Cork’s Silversprings have always sold and re-sold well, with a good owner-occupier concentration.

So says estate agent Gillian McDonnell, of Sherry FitzGerald, as she brings the two-bed 850 sq ft apartment No 33 to market, guiding €170,000: timing is good, as demand has gone back up for good, well-located apartments, after several years in the price slump doldrums. Neighbouring No 36 Tivoli Woods shows up on the price register in mid-2014 as having made €140,000.

She says this two-bed with one en suite and main bathroom will appeal to a good cross-section, from first-time buyers to investors and downsizers, as it’s a decent size, is south-facing, and is secure but not too aloof, on the first floor.

The development Tivoli Woods, near Silver Springs Moran Hotel and at the southern foot of the city’s north ring road network also, is in several five-storey blocks, and was built by Garryruth Properties from the year 2000, with a mix of one, two and three-bed units meeting a wide market demand at the time, and since.

Ms McDonnell says No 33 Tivoli Woods is well laid-out and bright, thanks to its orientation, with a double aspect on its living/dining room, with a fireplace in place with electric fire insert, and there’s electric storage heaters elsewhere.

The BER’s a pretty decent C1 level, despite the electric heating - which is generally penalised by the rating system.

VERDICT: Secure and popular apartment setting, near key road infrastructure, but you’ll need a car for best access.