Starter Homes: Four Cork properties for less than €350k

Homes in Macroom, Cloyne, Carrigaline and Cork city

5 Castle Rock, Meadowlands Macroom. 

Macroom, Co Cork
€250,000
Size	94sq m (1,012sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	A3

INSTALLING solar panels at both front and back of their three-bed, end of terrace home at 5 Castle Rock, Meadowlands in Macroom, has helped the owners upgrade their energy rating to an A3.

Ellen O’Sullivan of OM2 Auctioneers says when they bought the 2007-built house three years ago it had a C2 BER. “They fitted solar panels to heat the water and SVP ones which generate electricity,” she explains, adding that the energy-conscious owners have also put in a stove and a charging port for an electric vehicle, which they can use with cheaper night rate electricity.

A well-maintained, three-bed property with 94sq m of living space, it has a guide of €250,000. Ms O’Sullivan says it’s very attractive to first-time buyers, especially since the newly built A-rated property in Macroom costs significantly more than this.

Accommodation includes a living room with an insert stove and a sliding door opening into a tiled kitchen/ diner with solid timber units.

There’s also a guest WC as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms including one with an en suite and two with small balconies, one at the front and one at the rear.

Located within a 10-minute walk from Macroom town centre, the property has a back garden with a patio and a timber cabin with electricity.

The Property Price Register shows this house selling for €217,000 in August 2021.

VERDICT: Affordable and highly energy efficient.

Carrigaline, Co Cork
€335,000
Size	98sq m (1,055sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C3

THE type of property first-time buyers can often have a hard time finding, No 98 Lime Tree Road, Westwood in Carrigaline is a well-presented modern three-bed semi with a guide of €335,000.

Dan Howard of Howard Auctioneers was expecting significant numbers of young buyers to turn up for open viewings on Friday and Saturday this week. And, because it’s been owner-occupied and doesn’t have a rent cap, he thought investors were going to be interested too.

“It’s in showhouse condition,” he says, explaining that the early-2000s-built semi was bought and upgraded by current owners four years ago. “They redecorated and put in a new kitchen and a new stove and also put down a new patio in the garden,” he says.

Offering 98 sq m of living space, the house has a front sitting room as well as a spacious open plan kitchen/dining/living with tiled flooring, a breakfast counter and integrated appliances. Off the hall, there’s a guest WC and upstairs there’s a bathroom and three bedrooms including one with an en suite shower room.

At the rear, there’s a lawned garden with a raised bed, a shed, and a patio. Overlooking a green area at the front, the house is within one km of Carrigaline town centre.

The most recent sale of a three-bed semi in Lime Tree Road is that of No 78 which sold for €336,000 in February last year. The Property Price Register shows No 98 selling for €250,000 back in 2020.

VERDICT: Not expected to be too long on the market.

Lower Glanmire Road, Cork city
€195,000
Size	84 sq m
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	F

Affordability — €195,000 guide — is key to this mid-terrace property at 149 Lower Glanmire Road.

Dating from the 1900s, it includes a living room, kitchen diner (with upgraded units), utility room, ground floor bathroom and three bedrooms, but has an F BER and needs further modernisation.

Karl O’Reilly of Savills Auctioneers notes that is within a 15-minute walk from the city centre.

VERDICT: Rare at this price so close to the city.

Cloyne, Co Cork
€265,000
Size	97 sq m (1,044 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

Well presented and modern with a B3 BER, No 31 Cloyne Meadows in Cloyne village is a mid-terrace three-bed house with a guide of €265,000.

Cronin Wall Properties says the 2003-built property has been well looked after and is located, within easy reach of Midleton, Garryvoe and Ballycotton.

Accommodation includes a living room with fireplace, guest WC and kitchen/diner with cream units, while upstairs is a bathroom and three bedrooms, one ensuite and outside it has a back garden with a newly laid patio.

VERDICT: Starter home 10km from Midleton.