Starter Homes: Four Cork homes for less than €300,000 

Homes for first-time buyers to consider in Shanagarry, Blarney Street, Killeagh and Watergrasshill 

Shanagarry, East Cork
€230,000
Size	111 sq m (1,200 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	C2

While the four-bed terraced properties in Shanagarry Holiday Village in East Cork weren’t originally designed as permanent residences, they are now proving quite popular with first time buyers.

Cronin Wall auctioneers – who have just listed No 16 with a guide of €230,000 – say that many of the properties, including this one, are now owner-occupied.

Built in 2004 as part of a development of 20 houses, it’s been upgraded by the current owners who bought it in 2019 and put in a new kitchen and bathroom and also fitted a solid fuel stove.

“It’s exceptionally well decorated and presented, has almost 1,200 sq ft of living space and is located in Shanagarry close to local amenities and within easy reach of beaches in Ardnahinch and Garryvoe,’’ says auctioneer Shay Cronin.

At ground floor level there’s a long kitchen-dining-living room with a wood burning stove at the front and modern grey kitchen units at the rear. There’s also a bathroom and two bedrooms including one used as a gym.

The upper floor has two additional bedrooms including one with an en suite shower room. Fitted with double glazing and electric storage heaters, the property has a C2 BER.

Overlooking a green area at the front, Shanagarry Holiday village is 15 km from Midleton, 3.5 from Garryvoe Beach and 5km from Ballycotton.

VERDICT: Its affordability and proximity to the coast could prove very tempting to a buyer from Cork city.

Blarney Street, Cork city
€285,000
Size	124 sq m ( 1,335 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B2

With the addition of an extension at the rear, this modern three-bed mid terrace house at 4 Hollyhill Lane, off Blarney Street, offers good space for its €285,000 guide.

The owners who bought it new in 2004, put on an extension in 2020 which brought the square footage up to 1,335 sq ft reveals Kate Buttimer of Savills.

“It’s in superb decorative order, has a B2 BER rating and is situated on a quiet residential road where properties are quite rare to market,” she says, noting that it’s within easy reach of schools, UCC and amenities and less than a ten minute drive from the city centre.

A partly stone-clad property, it’s accessed by a set of steps enclosed by railings and a gate.

Off the hallway at the front is a living room with a fireplace and a stove, and at the rear, an open plan kitchen-dining-living room with high gloss cream kitchen units.

The recently added living area has tiled flooring, a skylight and a door to a small utility room.

Off the hallway there’s a guest WC while upstairs the house has a modern bathroom and three bedrooms, two doubles and a single. There’s also an attic room used for storage.

While properties on Hollyhill Lane don’t often come on the market, another nearby three-bed mid-terrace property, No 18, sold for €285,000 in May.

VERDICT: The fact that it’s modern, spacious and within walking distance of Apple should make this very attractive to both first time buyers and investors.

Killeagh, Co Cork
€225,000
Size	118sqm (1,265sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	E2

A central location on Killeagh’s Main Street and an affordable guide of €225,000 are the key selling points for An Grianán, a three-bed semi-d dating from the early 1900s, so says Caoimhe O’Connor of CCM auctioneers.

She also notes that it has 1,265sq ft of living space and includes two extensions.

Upgraded over the years, it has oil-fired heating and double glazing but needs modernisation.

VERDICT: Buyers looking to move in from rural areas and young couples are the most likely viewers.

Watergrasshill, Co Cork
€240,000
Size	117sqm (1,260sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

Affordable for a modern three-bed property with over 1,200sq ft of living space, No 41 The Cloisters, Ard Cashel in Watergrasshill is new to the market with a guide of €240,000.

Eileen Neville of Behan, Irwin & Gosling auctioneers says the 2003-built end-of-terrace house is in very good condition and offers good value for a young couple.

Located within a short walk from Watergrasshill village, it has a living room, kitchen/diner, and WC at ground level, with a bathroom and three bedrooms — one en suite — on the upper floor.

VERDICT: An affordable modern property just 20km from Cork City on the M8.