Property Focus: Why Carrigaline is booming

With the largest housing construction site in Munster, Carrigaline offers a lot of choice

The factors which have helped Carrigaline’s development include proximity to Cork city and Ringaskiddy.

With the high level of new housing development going on in Carrigaline, it very definitely qualifies as a boomtown.

The most sizable of these new developments is Janeville where 275 houses have been either completed or under construction and another 700 are planned. 

“It is the largest housing construction site in Munster if not in Ireland," says selling agent Dan Howard who expects the development to have 1,000 houses when completed in seven or eight years time.   Janeville, being built by Astra Construction, is one of a number of large developments which over the last 30-years have seen Carrigaline transform into a thriving satellite town which by 2016 had a population close to 6,000.

The factors which have helped Carrigaline’s development include proximity to Cork city, 12 kilometres away but according to Mr Howard, its proximity to Ringaskiddy has been even more significant.

"The pharmaceutical industries in Ringaskiddy employ thousands – at least half the new houses we sell in Janeville are being bought by people working in Ringaskiddy."

Janeville got underway in 2017, offering a range of terraced, semi-detached and detached properties. "In the most recent phase in September we released 30 houses, three of which are left now," says Mr Howard who already has a waiting list for the next phase.

The new development at Janeville is the largest housing construction site in Munster. Pic: Brian Lougheed

Other housing developments underway in Carrigaline include Castle Heights on Kilmoney Road being built by Hallmark construction. Savills is set to release 62 houses this month which will see three and four-bed semis and four-bed detached houses priced between €315,000 and €435,000.

Auctioneer Michael Pigott is also preparing to launch Abbey Lane, a new development of ten, four-bed detached properties with prices in the region of €465,000.

While new developments are continuing to sell off plans this year the availability and sales of second-hand properties have inevitably been impacted by Covid. The Property Price Register recorded 220 purchases during 2019 but the figure up for this year up until mid-October this year was just 120.

MyHome.ie website shows 53 residential properties for sale in Carrigaline now including five sites. There are no apartments among them and just three are new properties.

The majority are second-hand homes, which according to Dennehy auctioneers have been selling particularly well since the end of the first lockdown.

"Buyers came out en mass and pent up demand pushed prices up by 2%," reveals auctioneer Roy Dennehy.

Despite the fact that the town has a good supply of new houses, he says the high level of demand for properties in Carrigaline means that the second-hand market is also buoyant.

"In the past young couples bought starter homes in Carrigaline and moved back to the city five years later. Now buyers are staying in Carrigaline and trading up,” he said.

He says that besides housing construction a range of other developments are improving the quality of life for Carrigaline's inhabitants. "Three new schools are now under construction and Aldi has bought a six/seven-acre site and has plans for a new retail park."

Forest Hill, Carrigaline €237,500

At the lower end of the Carrigaline property market with a guide of €237,500, No 21 Primrose Court in Forest Hill looks like an attractive proposition for a young couple or a single person. 

A two-bed mid-terrace house built in 2008, it’s listed with auctioneer Michael Pigott who says it’s owner-occupied, very well presented and in superb condition.

There’s 785 sq ft of accommodation which includes a tiled open plan kitchen/dining/living area with modern units and a guest WC at ground level while upstairs there is a bathroom and two bedrooms including one en suite. It has parking at the front and a lawned garden at the rear.

VERDICT: An affordable, ready to move into starter home.

Ardnacloghy, Carrigaline €340,000

A little bit different in appearance from the new builds going up in Carrigaline now, No 52 Carrigcourt in Ardnacloghy is a Dutch dormer-style three-bed detached house built in the 1990s.

Guiding at €340,000, it’s on the market with Sherry FitzGerald who says it’s well-maintained and offers good space (1,680 sq ft) and, being detached at the end of a cul de sac, also offers good privacy.

Accommodation includes two sitting rooms, a dining room, a kitchen diner, a guest WC and a utility room as well as a bathroom and four bedrooms including one en suite.

It’s around a kilometre and a half from shops and amenities on Main Street.

VERDICT: A mature, detached alternative to a new three or four-bed semi

Forest Hill, Carrigaline €345,000

A trade-up buyer on the hunt for a spacious modern second-hand property in Carrigaline could find everything they are looking for at, No 35 Daffodil Way in Forest Hill.

A three-year-old, A-rated, four-bed semi with solar and photovoltaic panels, it’s on the market with a guide of €345,000. Describing it as “almost new”, Dennehy auctioneers said it has been interior designer decorated with quality fabrics, flooring and carpets.

There’s 1,500 sq ft of living space including a sitting room, a large living/dining /kitchen space and a guest WC as well as a bathroom and four bedrooms, two with en suites.

VERDICT: An attractive energy-efficient home located one kilometre from the town centre.

Janeville €285,000 - €295,000

Just two opportunities are now available to first-time buyers who want to purchase in the Janeville development in Carrigaline this year – one is a three-bed, end-of-terrace for €295,000 and the other a three-bed, mid-terrace for €285,000.

For a trade buyer in search of something larger, there’s just one remaining property in the current phase, a four-bed semi for €370,000.

“We released 30 houses in September and these are the last three left,” says auctioneer Dan Howard who already has a waiting list.

He says he is seeing strong interest from people who were renting during the lockdown and have now decided to buy a home of their own.

VERDICT: An opportunity to buy a new A-rated home in a popular development.