Trading Up: Blackrock Road, Cork City, €495,000

One of the more unusual estates along Cork city’s Blackrock Road is Cleve Hill, with less than two dozen homes, mostly semis, built in the mid-1900s, some on the main road, some inside in various dog-legs and clusters: there’s nothing standard at all about they way they got placed, faced or oriented.

Many were held for decades by the family of the late Cork architect Frank Murphy, being slowly then sold off individually, and so there’s been a steady turnover.

Six acres of undeveloped land at the back of Cleve Hill was bought by Howard Holdings in 2006 for €10.2m from the family, reselling two years ago, making €3m to a Co Kildare-based buyer, who subsequently sought planning for 30 new, upmarket homes on its slopes.

Meanwhile, most of the older, original Cleve Hill stock, when sold, get whoppers of extensions.

Now listed for sale, and already extended several years ago at ground level, is No 12 Cleve hill, and it’s one of the ones right on the main Blackrock Road, facing south.

Agent Tim Sullivan has had more than share of re-sales here and now he guides No 12 at €495,000.

Overall condition is very good, with features like a cast iron fireplace in the front living room, stained glass panels in the front door, and the gardens are walled in.

VERDICT: A Cleve-r buy?