House of the Week: West Cork home pushes past its €389,000 asking price
THE sun has been shining, literally and metaphorically on coastal property sales since the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions lifted in June, with some exceptional results in seaside settings, in some cases making 50%-100% over their asking prices in popular West Cork beauty spots like Rosscarbery and Courtmacsherry.
Recent headline setters have been a bungalow on the Warren Strand near Rosscarbery, which had guided €395,000 when it appeared in these pages mid-summer: it finished bidding at a remarkable €805,000 via agents Hodnett Forde, and is in the final stage of legals, with no other details as yet confirmed, and with underbidder still on the hunt locally for something right on the water.
And, just at the end of last week a small c 1,200 sq ft home, Fisherman’s Cottage, right by Broadstrand beach near Courtmasherry and previously owned by a popular priest, found a new owner via an online auction.
Fisherman’s Cottage, on 0.4 of an acre, had had a guide of €250,000, and it featured here in early August before it was due a physical auction by month’s end, and has now sold for €425,000. Its selling agent Maeve McCarthy of Charles P McCarthy said it had attracted huge attention from buyers who know the lay of the land at Courtmacsherry very well, as well as from overseas.
She had lined up a private auction expecting about 20 attendees but — unlike those attending Golfgate in Clifden two weeks ago — realised it may be in contravention of new Government guidelines on public gatherings.
So, she cancelled the physical auction and rescheduled for the online platform Offr.io. She approved and registered six bidders, and it ended up making €425k, the answer to buyer and sellers’ prayers.
However, the clouds failed to part in similar sunny fashion on the day when auctioneer Martin Kelleher had his first viewing on Wednesday this week at this Dunworley Bay vantage point property, fresh to market in early autumn. With three viewers lined up for the day “the mist was down to the ground. You couldn’t see the sea. If you took a wrong step in the garden you’d have ended up in it though,” he says ruefully.
Nonetheless, given how busy he’s been since June, and acknowledging strong sales results elsewhere on coastal listings, he’s confident of a good result on this Lislevane listing, on 1.3 acres, with water frontage and access to a shingle beach. He launched the c 950 sq ft updated 1990s bungalow in a sublime setting at €389,000, and by the time of his first viewings he already had an offer well in excess, at €420,000: despite the mid-week mists, it seems to have the wind at its back.
Set on a headland or foreshore, it’s a couple of miles from Lislevane, and three from Barryroe Coop, with bay and ocean views, and has beaches galore at its beck and call.
It’s only mildly remote, and has some near neighbours on its land side, with dolphins on the other, wetter side.
Ten minutes by car will get you to Timoleague or Courtmacsherry villages, with their bars and restaurants, and beaches include Dunworley, Blind Strand and Broadstrand.
Cork city, and its airport, are less than an hour distant, and Mr Kelleher says his vendors are based in the US and not getting enough use out of it.
They bought the 1995-built three-bed home (one with en-suite) in 2004, and have since upgraded it, adding it’s in walk-in condition, needing no work.
Calls so far are from people looking for a seaside bolthole, holiday usage and an outdoor lifestyle option (walks, angling, marine activity) more so than permanent residents, but for those thinking of relocating, there’s a local bus service linking to schools, and excellent shops in Barryroe, Clonakilty and other spots.
This property option, already under offer, has broadband available, and the 1.3 acres includes a secret garden with seating area, and rough path down to a pebble beach.
Not to be mist: with broadstrand and broadband to hand, what’s not to like?
Lislevane, West Cork
Price: €389,000
Size: 948 sq ft
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
BER: E1
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