Starter Homes: Four Cork properties on the market from €195k

Buyers can choose from homes across Macroom, Cobh, Douglas and Killeagh, writes Trish Dromey

Starter 62 Bracken Court, Donnybrook, Douglas, Cork

Macroom, Co. Cork
€295,000
Size	118 sq m ( 1,270 sq ft)
Bedrooms	-
Bathrooms	-
BER	-

Although spring may seem very far away, daffodils have already appeared in the gardens of this renovated farmhouse at Rushgreen, Bawnmore near Macroom.

Coming on the market this week with a guide of €295,000, it’s an attractively upgraded three-bed property with a timber-clad extension at the rear and half an acre of mature gardens, where the daffodils provided a welcome splash of colour when the house was photographed last week Auctioneer Killian Lynch says the hundred-year-old property was bought by current owners around 20 years ago. “They put in oil-fired central heating and double-glazed timber windows and brought the BER rating up to a C3,’’ he reveals, explaining that they also added on a two-storey extension which increased the floor area to 118 sq m.

Accommodation includes a traditional oak floored living room with a timber panelled ceiling and a stove in addition to an extended kitchen /diner with timber units which is decorated country kitchen style with delph. There’s also a utility room and a ground floor WC while the upstairs has a bathroom and three bedrooms including two with timber panelled ceilings “ It’s quirky and full of character and has peaceful gardens and views wooded countryside and distant hills,’’ says Mr Lynch noting that it’s located seven km north of Macroom.

The gardens have lawns, a gravelled parking area and three outbuildings.

VERDICT: Nicely renovated, it has charm and character and might make an affordable buy for a young couple looking for a country home.

Cobh, Co. Cork
€240,000
Size	79 sq m ( 850 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

The €240,000 guide price on this three-bed semi at 63 Flowerhill, Rushbrooke Manor in Cobh could make it very attractive to a young couple looking for a first home.

Built in the late 1990s it’s a 79 sq ft former rental property which according to Niamh Smith of Absolute Property Management is well maintained and well located within a km and a half from the town centre.

Accommodation includes a living room, a kitchen diner as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms.

Online bidding has already gone up to €244,000 

VERDICT: Very affordable.

Donnybrook, Co. Cork
€325,000
Size	90 sq m
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C1

This upgraded three-bed end-of-terrace house at 62 Bracken Court in Donnybrook, Douglas is the type of property that first-time buyers would probably be willing to brave frost and ice to go and view.

Built in the 198Os and thoroughly modernised by owners who bought it in 2020, it’s just come on the market with an asking price of €325,000 - which makes it quite affordable for Douglas.

Auctioneer Terry Hayes of Hayes Property says it’s tastefully decorated, has an improved C1 BER rating and is in excellent condition. “The owners replaced the doors, the flooring and the electrical fittings, put in double glazing and a new gas heating system and also fitted a new kitchen and new bedrooms wardrobes.” Offering close to 90 sq m of living space the house has a modern living room at the front with open shelves in one alcove and an insert stove with a bioethanol fire. To the rear there’s an upgraded kitchen diner which has a mix of blue and grey shaker-style units and patterned splashback tiles.

The upper floor has a bathroom and three bedrooms, two doubles and a single which is used as a home office.

To the rear, there’s a low-maintenance garden with a patio, a gravelled area and a steel tech shed.

Overlooking a green area at the front, the property is located at the top of Donnybrook Hill, a little over two km from Douglas village.

Recent sales in Bracken Court include that of No 136, a three-bed semi which sold for €350,000 last year The Property Price Register shows No 62 selling in 2020 for €215,000.

VERDICT: Likely to sell quickly.

Killeagh, Co. Cork
€195,000
Size	93 sq m ( 1,000 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

Built as a workshop but later converted into a two-bed terraced home, No 26 Cork Road in Killeagh is on the market with an asking price of €195,000.

Kyle Kennedy of Hegarty Properties says he already has a bid of €190,000 on the 93 sq metre property located just off Main Street in the village centre. 

The majority of the accommodation (a sitting room, a kitchen /diner, two bedrooms and a bathroom) is located on the ground floor but it has an upstairs extension at the rear which is used as a home office.

VERDICT: Centrally located and affordable - it could suit a downsizer.