Starter Homes: Four homes in Kealkill, Cloyne, Midleton, and Cork city

A cottage, end-of-terrace houses, and an apartment — with prices from €210k

starter homes

€269,000 Kealkill starter home — or summer residence

Kealkill, West Cork
€269,000
Size	73sq m (785sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

Stone-faced and attractive, No 10 Chapel Hill Court in the West Cork village of Kealkill seems set to switch from being a holiday home to a starter home.

“A well-presented two-bed end-of-terrace house with a guide of €269,000 — it’s the type of property that’s in very short supply in the Bantry area,” says Niamh Moloney of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill, explaining that all the interest so far has been from young couples who are finding it difficult to find a property in their price range.

Used as a holiday home by a family since it was built in 2005, it’s been well-kept. Accommodation includes a front living room with a stove and some pale blue fitted units as well as tiled kitchen/diner with units at the rear.

There’s also a guest WC while the upstairs has two bedrooms with dormer windows and fitted wardrobes.

To the side it has a paved parking space and at the rear a low-maintenance gravelled garden with a shed.

Situated in the Ouvane Valley, the village of Kealkill is 5km from Ballylickey and 11km from Bantry.

Given its location near the coast, Ms Moloney says it could interest holiday home buyers too.

The most recent sale in the 10-house development was of No 5, also an end-of-terrace house, which went for €275,000 in November.

VERDICT: Affordable and move-in ready.

Well-kept three-bed in Cloyne

Cloyne, Co Cork
€270,000
Size	94sq m (1,012sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C2

East Cork house-hunters whose budget doesn’t stretch to the price of a three-bed house in Midleton might consider taking a trip to Cloyne village where 59 Cloyne Meadows has just come on the market with a guide of €270,000.

Modern with a prettily-presented exterior, the three-bed end of terrace property is listed with Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Property. “It’s a well maintained 2000 built house with a C2 BER,” she says, noting that it was fitted with a new oil-fired boiler in 2024.

Offering 94sq m of living space it has a sitting room with a fireplace at the front and a tiled kitchen with fitted units and patio doors at the rear.

The downstairs has a guest WC located under the stairs while the upstairs has a bathroom and three carpeted bedrooms including one en suite.

The development has communal parking at the front and the property has a back garden which has been paved and gravelled for ease of maintenance.

A buyer looking to improve energy efficiency could take the example of the neighbours on both sides and install solar panels.

Located close to village amenities, Cloyne Meadows is 8km from Midleton and within a 10-minute drive from beaches at Ballybrannigan and Ballycroneen.

The most recent sale in Cloyne Meadows — a development of 70 terraced houses — was of No 56, a three-bed mid-terrace house which sold for €246,000 last year. The previous year, No 31, another three-bed mid-terrace house, sold for €300,000.

VERDICT: Affordable and modern with good space and communal parking at the front.

Affordable and convenient Midleton apartment

Midleton, Co Cork
€210,000
Size	65 sq m (700 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	C2

House hunters in Midleton will find few properties as affordable as this apartment at 4 Corabbey Court. Accommodation at the v-shaped ground floor property which was built in 2000, includes a living room, a kitchen/diner, a small utility, a bathroom and two bedrooms — one en suite. Located in a 16-unit apartment block, it includes a parking space.

“It’s conveniently located within a few minutes’ walk of the town centre,” says Mr Kennedy of Kennedy Estate Agents.

VERDICT: Scarce in this price range.

Two-bed end of terrace within a 2km walk of Cork's city centre 

Farranree, Cork city
€270,000
Size	71 sq m (764 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	D1

Offers of €270,000 are being sought for Shalom, a two-bed end of terrace at 18 Closes Road, Farranree.

Gretchen Kelleher of Barry Auctioneers says that the property, which was built in the 1960s, is owner occupied and well-kept but in need of
modernisation and updating.

Its 71 sq metres of accommodation includes in a small sitting room, a kitchen/dining/living room and, upstairs, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

VERDICT: Located within a two km walk of the city centre, it’s expected to appeal to both first-time buyers and investors.