Property Focus: One in five Ballincollig homes are going 20% above asking

The Property Price Register shows 92 sales in Ballincollig so far this year.

High demand coupled with low supply has pushed prices at the top end of the Ballincollig market to a record level.

The €865,000 paid for a four-bed house at No 46 Fernwalk in Greenfields at the start of the year was the highest purchase price for a Ballincollig property since the boom. Since then, No 1 Limeworth, a property with a guide of €875,000 — has recently gone sale agreed, so that figure might now be even higher.

No 46 Fernwalk, which exceeded its guide by €90,000, was one of three detached houses on the market with Sherry FitzGerald in Fernwalk this year. No 66, with a guide of €780,000, now has an offer above €800,000, while No 20, recently launched with guide of €790,000, could — if demand continues at current levels — potentially hit €800,000.

While No 46 Fernwalk is the only property selling above €800,000 in Ballincollig in recent years, No 11 Woodberry and No 16 Limeworth, which both sold for €755,000, were the only houses in the area in the last five or six years to go above €700,000.

Ballincollig Regional Park. Significant increases in prices are being seen at different levels of the emarket.

Sherry FitzGerald’s Norma Healy says that while prices have been rising across the board, it is the large detached houses which have seen the highest percentage increases.

“You can’t buy a detached four-bed in Ballincollig now for less than €650,000, and you can pay €700,000 and upwards,” she says, noting that prices didn’t go above €700,000 in recent years.

All auctioneers cite the lack of new development in the town as being a key issue, and say the supply is insufficient to meet demand. In Heathfield, one of two new developments in Ballincollig, the 24 houses released by Savills in April sold quickly. Auctioneer Elizabeth Hegarty is planning another launch within a few months.

In another new development at Cois Caisleán, Maglin, all available 18 houses were sold off plans by Stonecrest Construction. Director Jim Coleman says there are plans to release more next March.

Barry Nagle of Global Properties describes supply in Ballincollig as being at an all-time low.

“You can hardly get an apartment in the area for love or money — when I looked a few weeks ago I could only find two for sale in the whole of Ballincollig,” Mr Nagle says.

“In June, you could not have found a single property in the area costing less than €300,000.”

Mr Nagle is also seeing very significant increases in prices at the top end of the market.

“Bidding on a four-bed house at Kilnaglory in Ovens with a guide of €595,000 has now gone up to €730,000 and it isn’t over,” he says, adding that he estimates that one in five houses are now selling by 20% above their guide prices. “In the past, if auctioneers were out more than 10% they were seen as incompetent — but valuing property in the current market is extremely difficult.”

Noting that all types of properties are now in short supply, Frank Walsh of O’Mahony Walsh says there have been price increases at all levels. “The price of a second-hand three-bed semi has increased by €30,000 since the start of the year — the average price has now gone up to between €330,000 and €350,000.”

The Property Price Register shows 92 sales in Ballincollig so far this year. There were 130 in 2020, and 182 in 2019.

Leslies Arch, Ballincollig €440,000 

Few available four-bed properties in Ballincollig offer as much space as this three-storey, 1,720 sq ft terraced house at 78 Leslies Arch at Old Quarter in Ballincollig.

So says Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald quoting a guide of €440,000 for the 2005 built house which has a B2 BER rating and is located within a five-minute walk from shops in the town centre.

“Old Quarter is one of the most sought-after developments in Ballincollig,” says Ms Healy, noting that the owners have kept the property in showhouse condition.

With four bedrooms, four bathrooms (including two en suites), as well as two living rooms, it has all the family living space that trade-up buyers look for.

VERDICT: All properties are scarce in Ballincollig now – but four-bed ones of this size are scarcer still.

Coolroe Meadows €395,000 

Such is the demand for four-bed semi-ds in Ballincollig that No 43 The Close, Coolroe Meadows has already attracted a bid of its €395,000 guide price.

Offering almost 1,300 sq ft of living space, the 2000 built house is on the market with auctioneer Brendan Bowe who describes it as being well maintained.

Located on the western fringes of the town, it’s around two kilometres from Ballincollig’s centre.

Explaining that the vendors are emigrating, Mr Bowe says it’s the type of property which could attract some of the returning emigrants who have been buying in the area since the pandemic.

“It’s an excellent family home and has already had a lot of interest from local and city buyers looking to trade up.’’ 

VERDICT: Not likely to be long more on the market.

Highfield Square, Ballincollig €345,000 

Three-bed properties – like this end-of-terrace house at 25 Highfield Square – are now in very short supply in Ballincollig.

Since listing it at the start of the month with a guide of €345,000, Frank Walsh of O’Mahony Walsh says it has been attracting a lot of interest, mainly from first-time buyers. “We already have an offer of €340,000,” he reveals.

Built in 2007, it’s a 1,185 sq ft house with a C1 BER rating. Mr Walsh says it’s in excellent decorative order and has additional space in the converted attic which is accessed by a Stira staircase and has a Velux window.

Located on the Cork city side of Ballincollig, close to the Link Road, it’s less than two kilometres from shops.

VERDICT: Expected to sell quickly.

Innishmore, Ballincollig €249,500 

One of the most affordable properties currently available in Ballincollig, No 29 Innishmore Court is new to the market with a guide of €249,500.

The three-bed end-of-terrace house is listed with Con Nagle of Global Properties who says it was built in the early 1980s and has been very well minded by its current owner.

“It’s an 875 sq ft house which has been upgraded with a modern kitchen and a tiled bathroom, ” says Mr Nagle adding that the owner has done a lot of work on making the gardens easy to maintain. To the rear it has decking, a patio, a shed and access for a car.

Innishmore is located within a 15-minute walk from the town centre and a seven-minute one from Dell EMC.

VERDICT: It’s one of just two houses currently available in Ballincollig for less than €250,000