€445k semi-d where the owners went up and out - and are now moving on

Green Shoots at Marwood Green where No 1 looks set to raise the price bar

Sat, 17 Feb, 2024 - 00:00

Property Editor Tommy Barker reports Pictures John Roche

Marwood, Riverstown, Cork
€445,000
Size	153 sqm (1,650 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

THE OWNERS of 1 Marwood Green have been in situ for over 20 years, but haven’t sat on their hands, steadily carrying out works on their home ever since.

But their next project is a house move, to a larger detached home, near the waters of Cork harbour, one built just a few years after they moved to No 1 Marwood back in 2002.

Since then the couple’s two sons have grown into teenagers, prompting them to begin thinking in 2023 of a trade-up move.

They’ve found their dream destination and this weekend their current home, by the entrance to The Green section of O’Flynn Construction’s Marwood development, goes to market, price guided at €445,000 by selling agent Paul Fenton of Sherry Fitgerald.

That’s for an upgraded four-bed semi-d of 153 sq m (1,650 sq ft), with an attic converted into a very useful, multi-purpose room with Velux and lots of accessible eaves storage, main bedroom with en suite and a side sun room that has been added off the kitchen/diner. That further side space was to hand as No 1 is on a corner heading into Marwood Green, which includes a large communal green at its core.

There are about 70 houses in Marwood Green, built on a hill slope, almost all semi-detacheds other than, it seems, just one fully detached: prices on resales have tipped over the €300k level since the 2020s, with No 53, a three-bed semi-d of about 93 sq m (1,000 sq ft) with a C2 BER, selling for €322,000 in 2022.

So, there’s a bit of a jump in No 1 Marwood Green’s AMV, but it’s larger, has been upgraded (new kitchen fitted in 2017), has four bedrooms and the BER is a B3 after insulation upgrades.

Elsewhere in Marwood, a four-bed detached, No 7 Marwood Avenue, made €457,000 last year; No 5 Marwood Close, a four-bed semi-d of 117 sq m (1,260 sq ft) with a C1 BER and no extension, sold over a year ago for €415,000, a bit over its initial €380,000 AMV on launch with agents Sherry FitzGerald.

There are about 200 houses altogether in Marwood, built two decades ago by O’Flynn Construction just beyond Sarsfields GAA club and pitches in Riverstown, just north-east of Glanmire’s ‘old’ village.

Since completing Marwood, O’Flynn’s also bought the prestigious, now shuttered period home, Dunkathel House, still only a large ‘site-in-waiting’. Meanwhile, Glanmire and Riverstown have continued to grow, with O’Flynns currently building around 600 homes in the phased Ballinglanna development, with around 400 units so far completed and where top prices have topped €600k, although the bulk of the remainder coming in the next year or two is in the broader ‘affordable’ category.

As a broad price comparison for No 1 Marwood Green, there’s another four-bed semi-d recently up for sale, at 5 Glenbourne, Ballinglanna, and this O’Flynn Group home of 134 sq m (1,430 sq ft) has an A2 BER and is guided at €495,000 by ERA Downey McCarthy, featuring on these pages last Christmas.

Mr Fenton says No 1 Marwood Green is in excellent order as its house-proud vendors have kept it up to date, and it has off-street parking, a smart front reception, smaller rear one, kitchen with granite tops and Belfast sink, good utility/laundry, and side sun room with French door access to the back garden.

There’s side gate access to the west-facing back garden, with a small shed tucked away for bikes etc. Then, across most of the rear is a painted, raised timber deck with seating spaces, ideal for outdoor grazing or BBQs with access also from the rear reception, and then on a lower level is a small lawn with space for a trampoline, and there’s also a second shed for storage.

Also to hand for accessible storage is space off the attic level’s multi-use bedrooms (used for quieter sleeps by one of the parents when on shift work,) and there’s also a bank of quality built-ins the main bedroom.

Overall condition at No 1 is excellent for a home now over 20 year of age, and the auctioneers Sherry FitzGerald say, with c 153 sq m there’s “a wealth of space, with versatile accommodation that can be utilized to suit many different styles of living”.

Since it was first built, Glanmire’s Marwood has ‘moved into the city’ after the extension of city boundaries into various sections of Cork county. The M8 now skirts around on the eastern boundary while the upgrades to Dunkathel Roundabout (officially opened this week) is expected to facilitate further, future developments east of the city thanks to improvement in the rail line and frequency of services from the city to Glounthaune, Midleton and Cobh, as well as cycle access upgrades also currently underway around Glanmire.

VERDICT: more than first meets the eye, likely to raise the price bar for Marwood Green.