Pandemic upswing continues as East Cork property sales gain ground on West Cork
Ballynoe House, Cobh, sold by auctioneer Dominic Daly to Simon Coveney for €900,000
"WEST is best” is a mantra denizens of East Cork have long had to contend with, but thanks to ongoing investment in infrastructure, industry and hospitality, the East is gradually advancing its claim for a place in the sun.
New greenways (Midleton to Youghal), the prospect of greatly improved road access east once the Dunkettle Interchange is complete and large-scale investment are really driving the area’s profile.
Confidence in East Cork is high as attested to by the level of spending: Jameson Distillery is to build a new €250m distillery in Midleton; the new owners of the five-star Castlemartyr Resort have invested €8m in the past year.
In Ballycotton, businessman Pearse Flynn is continuing to build on the coastal village’s inherent charm.
Property sales are going well too and the Cobh market is particularly buoyant: it's where the top price was paid for a home in East Cork this year. According to the Property Price Register, the sale by English Auctioneers of Edwardian home Brumana in Rushbrooke, which featured in these pages, fetched a hefty €1.23m.
At least two other East Cork homes skirted just above and just below the €1m mark in 2022, both sold by Sherry FitzGerald: Oakfield House, a c5,000 sq ft home on three acres outside Midleton where Zambian-born author Wilbur Smith lived for a year and Elmville, a tall, elegant Victorian home on Rushbrooke's Lower Road.
The sale most likely to interest the chattering classes though is that of Ballynoe House in Cobh to Simon Coveney, sold for €900,000 by auctioneer Dominic Daly to the new enterprise, trade and employment minister.
Mr Coveney's move has politicos speculating on whether it's a signal of a pending shift in constituencies, from Cork South Central to Cork East, which Mr Coveney has repeatedly dismissed. It's understood one of the main draws of Ballynoe for the Coveney family was the fact that the dated Georgian-style five-bed comes with c6 acres, ideal for pony-mad youngsters. It also enjoys gorgeous views, overlooking the River Lee, on the main road to Cobh, between Carrigaloe and Rushbrooke.
The sale included a number of outbuildings, such as a two-storey coach house and an all-weather enclosed tennis court. There’s no shortage of space indoors either, as the house measures in excess of 3,500 sq ft.
Another public-profile figure involved in a Cobh house sale during the year was food writer and chef Lilly Higgins, who sold No 1, The Crescent, which bookends a row of Cobh's most iconic period homes, via auctioneer Johanna Murphy, in an off-market sale, for €850,000.
Ms Higgins former home also featured in Property, as did a 5,000 sq ft modern home in Rathcuppogue, Cloyne, which fetched the highest price in East Cork outside of Cobh, and was sold by Hegarty Properties for €905,000, having come to market for €695,000.
All in all, property had a pretty boomy 12 months in East Cork, and as the year draws to a close, agents working give their assessment of where the market is at.
Ms Hegarty says her auctioneering firm has seen a significant increase in the average sales price in East Cork over the past year, as well as experiencing a 33% increase in volume of new listings, compared to 2021.
“This can be related to a number of trends in the market. People’s lifestyles have changed as hybrid-working models have come in and as a result we have seen a number of people travelling further in order to acquire good-quality homes.
“We have had viewers from many of the major cities seeking rural properties as the living standards that can be experienced in East Cork are much higher.
“We have also seen a number of second-hand rental properties re-enter the market as investors exit the sector as they seek more attractive investment opportunities,” Ms Hegarty says.
Other trends include a significant increase in mortgage free purchases, “in particular for our high-value properties”, Ms Hegarty says.
“The types of individuals looking at these properties tend to be high net-worth individuals looking to trade up.
“Another key trend witnessed is individuals returning home from abroad as they seek to access the growing opportunities available in Ireland. An example of a property which fitted these trends was Rathcuppogue which made €905,000, one of the highest sale prices achieved in East Cork, outside of the Cobh area, this year.
Hegarty Properties also has four New Home Developments totaling 155 new homes in the East Cork region.
“The sale of new homes and continued sales of these developments will be bolstered by the extension of the help-to-buy scheme until the end of 2024, and the new first-home shared-equity scheme,” Ms Hegarty says.
“In 2023, we expect to see the demand for new homes to continue. This is based on the decision by the Central Bank to increase the loan-to-income limits for first-time buyers to four times gross income and to increase the loan-to-value limits for second-time buyers to 90% from 80%, changes which take effect in January”.
Ms Hegarty adds that East Cork “remains a highly attractive destination” due to the proximity to Cork Airport and the Port of Cork and the good quality of life on offer.
“To this end, the current adaptations to the Dunkettle Interchange will be a vital improvement,” she says. “Another boost to the local economy will be the development of the Midleton to Youghal Greenway. This will be a further attraction to the ever- growing tourism numbers to East Cork.”
shares Ms Hegarty’s views.
He says East Cork is “quickly becoming one of the most thriving areas in the county”.
“Recent commencement on development of both industrial and residential properties ,mixed with a healthy quality of life is making it an extremely attractive place to live.
“Firms like the Biopharma company Abbvie is to invest €60m at its manufacturing plant in Carrigtwohill creating 70 additional jobs and GE Healthcare has opened its new €30.5m manufacturing line in the same IDA facility which will see the creation of 140 jobs.
“Add to this the announcement that Irish Distillers is to invest €250m to build a new distillery in Midleton, Co Cork, creating around 800 construction jobs and you can see the draw to the area.” Mr Colbert says the future of housing is positive also with The Waterock Development, consisting of 160 hectares, zoned to provide a mixed-use development in three phases which will eventually include 2,500 residential units, three schools, a neighbourhood retail community and hospitality centre, a dedicated railway station and parks.
The East Cork Greenway, which will run from Ballinacurra along the Riverside Way to the Market Green Shopping Centre in Midleton, with further connectivity to the Midleton-Youghal Greenway from the town's railway station, will now also stretch as far as Glanmire past Glounthaune making it a huge attraction for the area, he says In terms of house prices, Mr Colbert says East Cork “saw similar growth to other areas in Ireland with the average asking price for a three-bed semi at €275,277 and the average selling price €313,888.
He says the most significant increase in demand has been for detached properties, as “more buyers realise the benefits of living in East Cork”.
“A strong demand for four-bed detached homes has seen the average selling price rise 18% from 2021. “This is due to most still being able to work from home, so the appeal to have easy access to numerous beaches, still being within 20 minutes of Cork City, is a massive advantage and we are seeing a lot more buyers starting to choose East Cork over the West,” Mr Colbert says.
While he has seen the €300-400,000 price range slow in the last quarter of 2022, his firm feels that this was while potential buyers gauged the impact of interest rate hikes.
He expects demand in this area to “pick up again come January 1, 2023, when first-time buyers will be able to borrow four times their gross annual income.” Notable sales for him during the year were Greenpark, Aghada which sold for €700,000 and Lagile, Killeagh which sold for €770,000.
In Cobh, fresh from new RTÉ series Selling Ireland’s Dream Homes, has had a bumper year too.
She sold one of the most iconic properties of the year, the Martello Tower in Belvelly, for €700,000.
She says that since the pandemic, Cobh has “really come into its own, especially in the last 12 months”.
“It’s like the hidden secret has been found out,” she says.
“At least 60% of my sales this year were to people moving to the Great Island (first time buyers, investors and people returning home) predominantly due to the excellent public transport system we have, access to water leisure activity and the way of life in Cobh, which is so relaxed, with community working together.
“As I always say, our key selling point is that we are a town on an island 20 minutes from Cork City on the second biggest natural harbour in the world.
“Cork Harbour has always been an energy, hub but is now being earmarked as the renewable energy hub hence bringing employment, energy security etc to the area, with the knock-on effect of people looking for property.
“I now have a healthy database of people searching for a home in Cobh and indeed the villages in Cork Harbour.
“I have sold so many houses off market this year, more so than any other year and that is because of my database, social media and people staying in touch.
“If I can find someone a house I will, it may take time, but one always turns up. What I thought would be my most challenging sale, Martello Tower, turned out to be my easiest, it is simply divine, a rare opportunity to purchase an iconic building steeped in history,” Ms Murphy says.
She adds that the most sought-after houses in Cobh are period properties.
“The architecture is one of a kind and there is always a story attached. When a period home comes on the market it is gone in minutes – one being No. 1 The Crescent (Lilly Higgins' house). I have sold a few there over the years and they always sell so well, the view is breathtaking.” Ms Murphy says there is “ more to Cobh then Cobh town, the island is vast, hence plenty of choice”.
Holiday rental properties are doing particularly well she says, and office rentals, which were “non-existent, have also picked up, with plenty of activity around the harbour.
“East Cork is absolutely catching up with West Cork,” Ms Murphy says, adding that new-to-market Memberton House in Whitegate (featured here just before Christmas) is proving a huge hit, reflective of just how popular East Cork has become.
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