Selling Sunsets? Cork's coastal and West Cork markets are attracting US dollar buyers and home-grown elites

There's still pent-up demand post-pandemic for coastal settings, but get your paperwork in order if you are planning to cash in, advises estate agent Maeve McCarthy

Stone Hall Glandore sold for a recorded €3.4 million to a buyer from the US

2022 will round off another exceptional year for the West Cork property market.

Notable were Stone Hall, Glandore at the start of the year (pictured, above), and our firm alone has achieved 50% more sales of properties over €1m this year in comparison to last year.

There are many different factors driving these results. There is still pent-up demand for key waterfront/coastal residences that does not seem to be abating.

We have pre-qualified cash buyers on our books just waiting for the right property. These buyers have a very specific criteria and a keen understanding of property and its value. They will only consider a property if it works for them but also within what they consider reasonable parameters. If they feel a property is overpriced, they will not entertain it

Competitive bidding was still an enduring trend from the post Covid bounce. Although that had taken a dip at the end of Quarter 3, I assumed interest had started to slow down but it seems to be back again on a number of listings we currently have for sale.

Actor Paul Mescal bought near Schull in 2022

Maybe this is a factor of low stock this time of year, a clearer picture will probably not materialise till the end of Quarter 1 next year.

A difference from 2021, in some instances, it is taking more than one go to sell a property. Property selling is a confidence game, and it is so ethereal, buyers need to have the confidence to sign a contract. They primarily need to feel they are making the right decision for themselves and their family on a personal and financial level. If they are given any pause for concern, be it macro-economic conditions, ‘Is now a good time to buy?’ or micro conditions, their surveyor finding unexpected issues in the property they are purchasing. This has caused purchasers to withdraw from sales. 

We can do nothing about the former but 100% we can control the latter. However, if a sale does fall through all is not lost, and we have multiple examples of going on to sell these properties at a slightly later date, often for more money.

One of my key takeaways from this year, is the number of Americans buying property in West Cork. Their rationale for purchasing here is varied from our low property tax to our temperate climate and safe society. In comparison to previous iterations, not all US buyers are from an Irish-American background, though most have holidayed here previously or have friends here and have fallen for the charms of West Cork. Due to the strength of the ‘Almighty Dollar’ against the euro, they have now decided to purchase homes here in significant numbers.

I was interviewed a few months ago by The New York Times for an article about house hunting in Ireland. Chatting with the journalist, discussing the different coastal properties we have for sale and ones that have sold, she asked, ‘why are these residences so cheap?!’

As you collectively take your jaws off the floor, watch a few episodes of the popular Netflix show Selling Sunset and that will give you an idea of the prices paid for premium property Stateside. Although, before we all get a rush of blood to the head and add a few zeros on to our property values, the prices paid there also reflect the magnitude and size of the population living there. And if anyone wants to pay Irish agents the Selling Sunset commission rates of up to 6%, I’m sure we wouldn’t say no.

Selling Sunset is property - and selling - on a different level

One of the most challenging differences for Americans who want to buy here is that it usually takes approximately two- four weeks from agreeing a sale to closing a sale on a property in the US while in Ireland it takes on average, if you are lucky, three months. The conveyance of property is still taking way longer than it should, sometimes it feels like you are trying to push water uphill to get a deal over the line and unfortunately, I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel on this one. 

All I can say to anyone thinking of selling a property is that you need to ask yourself ‘IS YOUR PAPERWORK IN ORDER?’ Apologies for shouting but I would put it in neon flashing lights outside every estate agent office if I could. That means checking your title deeds with your solicitor and getting an engineer to check your property boundaries are correct and that the building itself complies with building regulations and planning permissions, before consulting an estate agent. It does not mean having to address any existing issues, but it does mean declaring them as part of the sale.

It is so much better to be proactive than reactive in this circumstance. It lessens the stress involved in selling a property plus you are giving yourself every chance of completing a sale in the best time frame possible.

As we head from the tail end of 2022 with rising interest rates, the continuing war in the Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, it is even more tricky to comment on the outlook of the West Cork residential property market into 2023. I am hopeful that the fundamentals underpinning the property market here are still strong, but only time will tell.

• Maeve McCarthy is a director of , Charles McCarthy Estate Agents & Valuers, Skibbereen