Property Focus: Lismore seeing a run on large period homes

A profile of the property market of this West Waterford town

The main street in Lismore, Co Waterford. Picture Dan Linehan

While the heritage town of Lismore hasn’t been experiencing the high level of property activity seen in some coastal areas in recent months, it has been seeing a little bit of a run on large period homes.

Since the start of the year, two high-priced country houses in the area have gone sale agreed. Salterbridge House, a 15,600 sq ft Regency residence with 136 acres of land, was acquired by Dublin businessman Stephen Vernon in May for close to its €3.25m guide.

More recently Ballyin Garden House — an eight-bed 4,500sq ft Georgian house with seven acres of gardens went sale agreed after coming on the market in April with a guide of €1.1m.

The last remaining of three high-priced period houses to come on the market in Lismore over the last year, Ballyrafter House, with a guide of €1.15m is still available.

A 14-bed country house, once the shooting lodge for the guests at Lismore Castle, it is on the market with joint agents Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds, Sherry Fitzgerald Countrywide and auctioneer Brian Gleeson.

Cormac Curran of Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds says that with the recent pick up in property prices the owners of period houses have recognised that it’s a good time to sell.

“And we have been seeing good interest from Dublin buyers in these types of properties,” he reveals.

Although Lismore — famous for its fairytale castle and its salmon fishing — probably had more period houses than new ones, and some of the finest estate houses in the country — high priced sales there are rare.

Prior to this year, only two sales of this magnitude show up on the Property Price Register in the last eight years. Ballyin Garden House sold for €1.01m in 2018 and Fort William House went for €2.181m.

Auctioneer Brian Gleeson says Lismore has become popular with city buyers seeking lifestyle change.

He recently went sale agreed on The Villa, a detached Duke of Devonshire-built house on East Main Street with a guide of €495,000 which was bought by a Dublin couple.

The Duke of Devonshire’s name comes up in reference to a whole range properties, including the town’s only hotel, which has been sold by Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds.

Cormac Curran says the contract has just been signed on the Lismore House Hotel, a 29 room establishment, originally built by the Duke in 1797, which went on the market in 2017 with a guide of €1.5m.

“It is being bought by a hotel group who plan to redevelop it and reopen it by the end of the year,” says Mr Curran.

The major share of residential sales in Lismore tend to be of small terraced period properties.

“Larger period houses on the Mall can go for €500,000 but smaller ones typically cost between €150,000 and €250,000,” reveals Mr Curran.

New houses are rare in Lismore — there haven’t been any new developments in Lismore since the boom, although REA Spratt is now selling a new batch of nine houses at The Mills.

A town with a population of almost 1,400 in 2016, Lismore now has very little available property — only around eight are advertised online including the small new development at the Mills and Ballyrafter House for €1.1m.

Lismore, Co Waterford €1.15 million 

Built by the Duke of Devonshire as the shooting lodge for guests of Lismore Castle, Co Waterford, in 1830, Ballyrafter House is one of three large estate properties to come on the market in the Lismore area in recent times.

Now a country house hotel with some 9,600 sq ft of accommodation including 14 bedrooms, numerous bathrooms, and its own bar, it carries a guide of €1.15m.

Joint selling agents Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds, Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes, and auctioneer Brian Gleeson believe this graceful Georgian property with almost 3.5 acres of gardens has all the ingredients needed for a luxurious boutique hotel or an exceptional family home. They say the idyllically secluded house, near the river Blackwater, is already catching a lot of interest of Dublin buyers hunting for large homes and is being looked at for its commercial potential.

VERDICT: A rare opportunity to buy a period home that’s had few owners and last sold 60 years ago.

Curraghreigh, Lismore €349,000 

A modern, almost new four-bed bungalow at Currareigh, 5km from Lismore, offers the kind of space and tranquillity that buyers have been moving to the country to find since the pandemic started.

The property has over three-quarters of an acre of gardens. Cormac Curran of Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds explains that although the property was built in 2006 it has only recently been finished on the inside. “It has a high standard of finish, quality flooring and bathroom fittings and a high B3 BER. All that remains for a buyer to do is to put in a fitted kitchen.” Mr Curran says the location is tranquil and scenic with views over the River Bride and that the spacious south facing bungalow is perfect for remote working.

VERDICT: Oodles of space and a good price.

Chapel Street, Lismore €195,000 

There don’t seem to be a great many properties on the market in Lismore that don’t at least have some connection to the Duke of Devonshire and Lismore Castle — but River Cottage on Chapel Street is not one of them.

An estate worker’s cottage dating from the late 1800s, it’s been refurbished and upgraded in recent years as an Airbnb rental. Auctioneer Michael O’Leary says the cottage is old world and charming and would make an inexpensive buy for a young buyer. “It’s also being viewed by a few retirees, but could also be bought as a rental property,” he adds.

Prettily decorated, as you would expect from an Airbnb property in a picturesque heritage town, it has a small veranda area at the front and an enclosed garden at the rear.

VERDICT: Inexpensive and cute.

The Mills, Lismore €235,000 & €285,000 

Nine currently under construction properties at The Mills on the outskirts of Lismore, are probably the first new estate houses to be built in the town for years.

The properties are being built by Cooney Construction on an undeveloped site it acquired at The Mills, an existing development of over 50 houses which originally launched in 2015.

REA Spratt auctioneers are the selling agents for the new batch of houses which includes 1,320 sq ft three-bed semis (pictured) for €235,000 as well as 1,540 sq ft ones four-bed detached ones for €285,000.

Auctioneer Eamonn Spratt says given the shortage of new housing in the town the interest has been strong.

VERDICT: Opportunities to buy new A2 rated houses in Lismore are very limited.