Talk about the 'squeezed middle' at this tiny €170k city home
Squeezed middle: No 24 Vicar Street is near St FinBarre's Cathedral and is launched at €170,000 by agent Fiona Waldron
ONE of Ireland’s tiniest city-living homes hasn’t grown an inch, it would appear, since the last time it came up for sale three years ago.
How tight is tiny?
Well, let’s say the mezzanine bedroom squeezed in under the main room’s Velux window measures 144 cm by 200 cm - that makes it even smaller than a standard, 200cmX200cm double duvet.
We're certainly talking ‘cosy,’, if not well-feathered tog value here on ooh! Vicar Street in Cork city.
It 2024 price tag of €170,000 isn’t a whole lot more than what was paid for the 2.3 metre/8’ wide No 24 Vicar Street just over two years ago, when this 34 sq metre/360 sq ft home last changed hands for €160,000 after a modern-day refurbishment.
The mid-terrace home - which has a letter box separating the front door and the slender window on its narrowest of facades - has just about enough room inside in which to swing a cat, and only if it's short- tailed variety.
The tale at No 24 is that it takes compact city living to new heights or, at least, to a mezzanine bed space via open tread stairs just inside the front door.
This upper loft is just big enough to hold a small double bed, while its ground floor has a kitchen, sofa and dining table, plus shower room, and, phew, breathe out, an even smaller rear yard.
Now a 'second chance to buy,' this low-set early 1900s era city pad is almost in the shade of Cork’s St FinBarre’s Cathedral, near Barrack Street, and third level colleges.
It is tagged as “likely one of Ireland’s smallest properties to hit the market. Certainly, it’s one of Cork’s smallest in recent years,” says auctioneer Fiona Waldron of the one-bed, one-bath easy-keep home in an old, city heritage area.
She says it’s “sure to attract the attention of buyers seeking a wonderfully upgraded home, showcasing an efficient use of space and located on one of Cork city’s most historic streets within walking distance of its city centre.”
No 24 was sold back in 2017 as a doer-up, making €66,000, incredibly described at that time a two-bed, when it had just 25 sq m/270 sq ft on its single level, about the size it was noted of a single car garage.
It got done up, the mezzanine under a new roof added to the ‘useful’ floor area, now put at 34 sq m by agents Auctioneera, selling via online bids (you have to view it first before being allowed to bid.)
It’s in walk-in condition, and just about ten long strides deep; it's spans just 2.23m wide at its entry point, ‘widening’ to 3 metres behind to fit in a dining table and four chairs.
The sale today includes hidden or integrated appliances, and furniture, including a sofa bed and the mezzazine double bed, a mere 135cm by 190cm, but, hey, every centimere does indeed make a difference.
Guiding €170,000 after two more years of price inflation, but also risen interest rates, the selling agents predict “the price and location of the property will be a big draw for buyers, as turnkey properties like these are always popular.”
When it last went for sale in 2021, offers of €185,000 had been sought, but fell short making €25k less than that, although a still-cool €160,000.
What will the gas-heated, BER-exempt and “cosy” No 24 make now in a still hot property market?
Answers on a postcard, or a postage stamp at least, please.
: Talk about the 'squeezed middle". No 24 is more of a toe-hold than a bolt hole in a venerable city quarter, but, hey, there's a shoe for every (square) foot, right?
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