First time buyers and downsizers vie for Douglas-side convenience at easy-to-keep €395k Elm Close

No 6 Elm Close is a walk-in home in a mature niche estate off the main Douglas Road

No 6 Elm Close is tucked away in a well-maintained development close to Douglas village

Douglas, Cork city
€395,000
Size	89 sq m (961 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	C2

PHRASES like “ready-to-go” and “easy-to-keep” are music to the ears of most house hunters, but sweetest of all to those starting out or getting on in life.

For those starting out, that first time buy is crucial to future property moves. If you plan to leverage it down the line to buy the house of your dreams, you need to make damn sure the location is good. No 6 Elm Close in Douglas passes this crucial test.

For mature downsizers, the chief concerns are convenience and gentle upkeep. 

Again, No 6 Elm Close aces the test. Douglas village is walkable in 20 minutes or you can hop on a bus at nearby Rosebank and be there in jig time. As for upkeep? Well, the house is very well presented and at 89 sq m, eminently manageable. As for the outdoor space — out back is patio, fully enclosed, with planting along one side and a pedestrian gate to a communal pathway that circles back to garages and parking.

Patio out back

 You need never worry about out front because as part of an annual €700 service charge, it’s professionally maintained and beautifully manicured; to be enjoyed rather than laboured over.

Nicely landscaped communal garden

Elm Close, a niche development of just 10 homes tucked away in a cul de sac off the main Douglas Road, has a management company run by the homes’ owners and service fees paid to it ensure the scheme’s upkeep.

Built in the 1980s by Lane Bros, who were behind similar infill schemes in Carrig Dubh, Blackrock and Orchard Close in nearby Ballincurrig, the site was once the orchard of a large house. It’s a well-maintained L-shaped complex where six of the properties — including this one — have the bonus of a garage, accessed at the rear of a car park towards the back of the scheme.

End-of-terrace, two-bed No 6 has been in the ownership of the same family since the late 1980s where an aunt, a retired school teacher, spent her later years enjoying the garden and appreciating its proximity to amenities in Douglas and the city centre.

Open plan dining/living room

Various upgrades were carried out since the 2000s, when double glazed windows were fitted and gas central heating upgraded (BER is a C2). Beaded insulation was also installed. About 12 years ago, the kitchen and flooring was replaced and the bathroom upgraded.

 The house has been rented out in recent years.

Most of the houses in Elm Close are now owner occupied and the vendors believe it would suit a downsizer, a single person “or could look particularly attractive to older couples”.

Selling No 6 is Michael Downey of ERA Downey McCarthy and he says while Elm Close has always been a magnet for downsizers because of its ‘gold plated’ location, they are now seeing interest too from young professionals.

“It’s a gorgeous setting, a really attractive location for downsizers, but now also for young, upwardly mobile professionals because of a shortage of properties for first-time buyers,” Mr Downey says.

He’s guiding No 6 at €395,000. Mid-terrace No 9 was listed with a guide of €335,000 in an online sale last month — it went sale agreed for €440,000 in less than two weeks.

VERDICT: Expect downsizers and first time buyers to slug it out for this ready-to-go, easy-to-keep home. They may have to fend off investors too.