Trading up: Farranlea Park, Cork city €295,000

It’s only three years since No 45 Farranlea Park, Model Farm Road, last changed hands, but a work relocation means its late-2013 buyer is now a late-2016 vendor.

The all done up three-bed mid terraced home is guided at €295,000 by estate agent John Barry of Frank V Murphy & Co, and the Price Register for 2014 shows that last time around, Mr Barry had sold the 960 sq ft No 45 for €215,00.

Since then, it has had triple-glazed windows fitted to the front (the back ones had already been double-glazed by a previous owner), there’s a new condensing oil burner with new energy efficient rads, plus a 4.5kw stove inset in the stone fireplace in the living room, an alarm is now in place, and it’s all freshly decorated.

The work done has seen the BER go from a lowly E2 to an improved D1, and while there’s a floored attic with access, extra insulation here could drive the BER higher still, suggests Mr Barry.

No 45 has off-street parking for a couple of cars, and the back garden (which faces Mount Mercy’s playing pitches) has a south-west aspect and hedge boundaries.

The location’s very strong in the western suburbs of Cork city; it’s on a bus route and near schools, services, library, colleges, and hospitals.

VERDICT: Hot spot in western ’burbs.