Starter Homes: Four Cork properties on the market for €295,000 and under

First-time buyers can choose from homes across Douglas, Blackrock, Macroom and Mallow, writes Trish Dromey

Mon, 02 Oct, 2023 - 10:16

Trish Dromey

Douglas, Cork city
€295,000
Size	83 sq m (895 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

The type of property that young couples want to buy and that auctioneers typically have little difficulty selling, No 22 Highfields in Maryborough Woods is a two-bed mid-terrace house with a guide of €295,000.

Located in a popular development, just 1.5km from the village, it was built in the early 2000s, has a C1 BER, and has been well maintained.

There’s 83 sq m of living space including a front kitchen with tiled flooring and shaker-style units, an understairs WC and a timber-floored living room with a fireplace and French doors.

The upper floor has two carpeted ensuite bedrooms. To the rear, there’s a good-sized gravelled garden with a shed and two large blue/pink hydrangea bushes.

Stuart O’Grady of Sherry FitzGerald says this former rental property is both well kept and well located.

“Tucked nicely away within Maryborough Woods, it’s close to all amenities in Douglas village and the South Ring road network, which is easily accessed from Maryborough Hill and offers routes to the city centre, Cork Airport, Little Island, and Ringaskiddy.”

The Property Price Register shows two sales in Highfields so far this year. No 21, a two-bed mid-terrace house next to this one, sold for €317,000 in May, quite a bit in excess of its €285,000 guide price. Two months earlier No 19, an end-of-terrace house sold for €340,000.

VERDICT: May well exceed its guide.

Macroom, Co Cork
€250,000
Size	125 sq m (1,345 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	4
BER	B3

The opening of the Macroom bypass is making properties like this four-bed end-of-terrace house at 15 Oakridge, Meadowlands more attractive to Cork City buyers.

So says John O’Mahony of OM2 Property, who is seeking offers of €250,000 for the 125 sq m three-storey property, which is located within a 15-minute walk of the town centre. “It’s owner occupied, has a B3 BER, and is in mint condition,” he adds.

Accommodation includes a kitchen diner, a sitting room and a guest WC as well as a bathroom and four bedrooms including two with ensuites.

VERDICT: Offers good space for its guide price.

Blackrock, Cork city
€295,000
Size	78 sq m (840 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

Tucked away in a cul de sac beside the Maple Leaf pub in Blackrock village, No 12 Glandore Avenue could be seen as a tempting prospect by either a young couple or an older downsizing pair.

The two-bed end-of-terrace property, which has been renovated by current owners who bought it in 2018, is new to the market with a guide of €295,000.

Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy, who is selling it for the second time, says that since buying it, the owners have put in double-glazed windows, new kitchen units, and redecorated.

He says that further modernisation will be required as the BER is a G and he thinks that new owners might consider using the garden space at the rear to build an extension, as many neighbouring houses have done.

The 78 sq m of space on offer includes a kitchen diner with modern units as well as a sitting room with a cast iron fireplace. In an extension at the rear, there’s a bathroom and a sunroom while the upper floor has two carpeted bedrooms.

The property has a good-sized garden at the rear and, as the end house on Glandore Avenue, is the only one with off-street parking at the side.

“It’s within a short stroll from the Marina and a selection of bars and cafes,” says Mr Guerin noting that Blackrock is one of the city’s most desirable residential locations.

The desirability of Glandore Avenue can be seen from the sale for €520,000 of No 6 in 2021, a mid-terrace property extended and modernised into a three-bed 168 sq m home. It sold way beyond its €340,000 guide.

VERDICT: A new owner has quite a few options.