Ten years of tipping away at upgrades makes a fine job of €595,000 Glanmire home

What the selling family leaves behind is an upgraded home, which they made their project over most of the intervening time

31 Upper Clencairm, Glanmire, Cork.  Pictures H-Pix

Riverstown, Glanmire
€595,000
Size	157 sq m (1,690 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3/4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

THE family at 31 Upper Glencairn in Cork’s Riverstown, Glanmire, moved to Cork from “up country”.

Now, a decade or so later, they are set to return to their roots: What they leave behind is an upgraded home which they made their project over most of the intervening time.

That’s according to estate agent Michael Downey, of ERA Downey McCarthy, who started first viewings at the elevated-setting detached dormer just this week, with 10 viewers on Tuesday, eight more Friday, and with more sure to come.

Most likely it’s not only because demand for good homes in Glanmire is strong as this year kicks off, but also — or even more so — due to the quality of No 31 itself.

“It’s turnkey, ‘walk-in,’ ‘just hang up your hat,’ all those familiar descriptions apply here” says Mr Downey, who adds the woman of the house “has a good eye for décor.”

That can be seen from the air of internal calm and relaxation, neutral yet far from bland or boring.

“This home was the owners’ project for the eight or nine years they were here,” says the ERA agent, expecting his listing starting with a €595,000 AMV to go into the €600k region. The only question is: “How far?”

No 31 came to market just after the same firm listed No 25 Woodbrook, a B3-rated three-/four-bed detached on a corner site in Glanmire Court. No 25 is smaller, at 103sq m, and was built in the mid 1990s, got listed just in early January at €445,000, and was at €500,000 this week.

Also with ERA since January 12 is No 7 Hayville in Sallybrook, a 130sq m four-bed, built in 2004 and with a C1 BER. The unfurnished No 7 launched January 12 at €450,000, and it was at €480,000 in offers mid-week.

Thus joining the fray is No 31 Upper Glencairn. It’s larger, and quite a bit dearer, commencing at €595,000, but the early surge of interest to view shows the funds available for a detached home in such great shape — and with a B3 BER to boot, meaning eligibility for a lower rate mortgage.

Expected profile is traders up from smaller or older homes, and relocators to Cork.

As it stands, No 31 has three first-floor bedrooms — one with en suite and dressing area — and the option to use a room at ground level as a guest/occasional fourth bedrooms.

Right now, it’s a den/office and seems to have the same sort of floor plan as No 25 Woodbrook’s ground floor bed option.

Handily, in No 31’s case, it has a detached garage just to the side/west which, if upgraded, could take on home office duties, Mr Downey suggests.

Might some even consider extending over and into it and link to the house?

The garage has the same brick facade as the house, similar red/terracotta tiles, and ornate ridge tiles — a feature used commonly by Upper Glencairn’s developers, Bride View Developments/Homes, in the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Set up in the 1970s, Bride View had its base in Sallybrook Glanmire for many years, handy when it was building the likes of Upper Glencairn and Upper Glenrichmond on its home turf, so to speak (it has new projects also in the wings…)

ERA put No 31 Upper Glencairn’s construction to 1999/2000, and the Price Register shows 10 resales here since 2010, the highest so far at €455,000 for No 54 back in 2024. No 30 made €417,500 three years earlier, in 2021, with just one other over €400k — that was No 3 in far-distant 2015.

No 31 turns up on the register at €350,000 by the start of 2017, at €350,000 (the address is reversed, listed as Glencairn Upper, and that was before the owners’ rolling series of upgrades, new kitchen, plumbing and electrical upgrades etc, adding solar power capability).

There’s also a new high performance front door, composite built, but main glazing elsewhere is original double glazed/latticed style. There’s also now a wood-burning stove in the main front reception room with high-grade dark new laminate flooring, while bedrooms upstairs have painted/stained wood floors.

The guest loo has a painted dado and wainscoting, the main bedroom’s en suite has a shower over a bath, and the main family bathroom has been upgraded with a large walk-in shower and fresh tiling.

The house faces directly south. Thanks to its elevation — it’s got an uphill Riverstown address/setting — it gets long, and distant views likely to span the river towards the southside hills at Rochestown.

Features include a brick-paved drive with space for several cars; further prospects in the garage with pitched roof; a good level of finish around the back with large paved patio; raised beds with lighting; plus, there’s a rockery created in the sandstone slope to the back/north which rises up behind this top tier of Upper Glencairn to farm fields, with an old stone boundary above. The setting is just to the west of the M8 as it skirts around Glanmire, forming the “new” city/county boundary since 2019.

VERDICT: Going to fly.