Starter Homes: Four Cork properties starting at €225,000

First-time buyers can choose from homes across Cork city, Rochestown and Midleton, writes Trish Dromey

Mon, 09 Oct, 2023 - 14:57

Trish Dromey

Ballyhooley, Co Cork
€295,000
Size	156 sq m (1,667 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

Upgraded in almost every way you could think of, this elegantly decorated four-bed semi at 27 Lios Ard in Ballyhooly has a sunroom extension, an attic conversion and a covered patio.

On the market with a guide of €295,000, it’s listed with Sherry FitzGerald O’Donovan who says that no expense has been spared on the finish of this sizable property which has 156sq metres of living space including the attic conversion.

“The living room has cornicing and a ceiling room, wainscoting, and damask wallpaper and a fireplace with an insert stove,” says auctioneer Donal Barry noting that the kitchen has recently been fitted with sage green and cream units with quartz worktops, a Belfast sink, and a Rangemaster range cooker.

“The extension work and most of the decorating was carried out by the original owners who bought it new in 2007,” reveals Mr Barry noting that the house has a B3 BER.

Downstairs accommodation includes a living room, a kitchen/diner, a utility, a guest WC, a sunroom, an outdoor room with Spanish tiles, and a Perspex roof.

Upstairs there’s a bathroom, four bedrooms (one en suite), and an attic room.

Located within walking distance of the village, Lian Ard is nine km from Fermoy. Given its size and condition and the fact that it’s within a 30-minute drive from the Lee Tunnel, Mr Barry believes it could look very attractive to city buyers.

VERDICT: A lot of house for its €295,000 guide.

Rochestown, Cork city
€240,000
Size	56 sq m (602 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

A Rochestown address and a €240,000 guide should ensure that this two-bed, mid-terrace house at 30 Abbotswood Mews on Monastery Road gets good interest.

Located in an L-shaped terrace of 12 houses, it’s a 2000-built property which is new to the market with Jeremy Murphy auctioneers who say it’s well maintained and well located within four km of Douglas village.

Its 56sq metres of living space includes an open plan kitchen/dining/living room with tiled and timber flooring and green kitchen units.

It has a bathroom and two bedrooms upstairs as well as a south-facing back garden.

VERDICT: Small but affordable and well-located.

Farranlea Road, Cork
€335,000
Size	89 sq m (958 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	C1

The phones at Lisney Sotheby’s have been hopping this week with calls about 1 Victoria Village, on Farranlea Road.

“Within a day of advertising it, we had booked 19 viewings,’’ reveals auctioneer Eileen Neville, quoting a guide of €335,000 for a three-bed semi which is part of a 1990s built development of 21 redbrick houses situated in a cul de sac off Faranlea Road.

She puts the very high level of interest down to the location which is within walking distance of UCC, MTU, the IDA Business Park and Cork University Hospital.

“A well-maintained property which has been owner occupied, it is attracting a lot of calls from first-time buyers but we have booked a few viewings with investors too,” she says, pointing out it would probably fetch €2,500 a month in rent.

The 89sq m property has a front living room with mock Victorian lattice style windows and a fireplace as well as a kitchen dining room with fitted units. There’s also a guest WC while the upstairs has a bathroom and three bedrooms. Fitted with gas central heating and double-glazed window the house has a C1 BER rating.

At the front, there’s a parking space and, at the rear, a two-tiered west-facing patio garden with shrub beds. You can see Cork County Hall from the garden so it could appeal to employees from there as well as those in the universities and the hospital.

Sales don’t seem to happen too often in Victoria Village — number 9 sold for €378,000 in 2022 and four years before that No 3 sold for €255,851.

VERDICT: Properties in this location are always in demand.