Starter Homes: Four Cork homes between €230,000 and €325,000

Because of the stress and difficulty involved in putting on an extension, buyers are usually happy to have the opportunity to buy an already extended one like this two- bed mid terrace house at 14 Grange Way, Grange Manor in Ovens.

“Previous owners put on a modern bright extension with four rooflight which brought the living space up to 94 sq metres,’’ reveals Tirza Hourihane of Sherry FitzGerald Cork, who has just started showing the 2005-built property, which is guiding at €325,000.

Modern and well kept, it has a long open-plan kitchen/dining /living area on the ground floor with cream kitchen units at the front, a dining area in the middle and a laminate-floored living area with a fireplace at the rear.

It has a guest WC on the ground floor and a bathroom and two bedrooms, one front and one back, on the first floor.

Outside the living room extension at the rear there’s an enclosed, low maintenance patio garden with a timber shed.

Mid terrace in a row of four, the property overlooks a green area at the front and is located around five km from Ballincollig.

Interestingly, No 14 is actually the most recent sale in Grange Way and was purchased just three years ago by current owners for €275,000. Earlier in 2022 another extended two- bed mid terrace house at No 9 sold for €315,000.

VERDICT: Modern - already extended and ready to go.

Offering a decent amount of space for its €299,000 guide, No 6 Shalimar Court, Poulavone in Ballincollig is a modern two-bed duplex with 121 sq metres of accommodation.

Situated in a gated complex of 17 properties built in 2008, it’s on the market with Michaela Buckley of O’Mahony Walsh auctioneers, who says it’s well maintained and well located within a ten-minute walk from the town centre.

At entrance level, the duplex has a spacious open-plan kitchen/diner with modern fitted units and two bay windows. Off the hallway, it has a bathroom and small utility and at the rear a sitting room and en suite bedroom which both have bay windows. The upper level has a bedroom, a bathroom and a landing area used as a home office. Outside, the property has one designated park space.

“It’s spacious, modern and close to Ballincollig so it could appeal to a first-time buyer or a downsizer,” says Ms Buckley, noting that it’s been owner-occupied and doesn’t have a rent cap, so might also attract the interest of an investor. “It’s got a B1 BER so it’s eligible for a green mortgage, she adds.

Located off Carrigrohane Road on the Cork city side of Ballincollig, it’s around eight km from the city centre.

There don’t seem to have been any sales in Shalimar Court in the last five years. The last recorded sale is of Apartment 5, which went for €250,000 in 2020. In the same year a duplex at No 11, sold for €269,000.

VERDICT: Probably the most spacious property currently available in this price range in Ballincollig.

Douglas properties with a guide of €265,000 - like this one at 7 James Connolly Place in Donnybrook – are usually in high demand.

Although in need of modernisation and redecoration, the 1950s-built two -bed mid terrace house has an improved C3 BER rating which has been achieved with external insulation and an upgraded gas boiler.

Selling agent Jeremy Murphy auctioneers say that the property which overlooks a green area at the front, is well located within a 20-minute walk from Douglas village.

It has 78 sq metres of accommodation which includes a sitting room, a kitchen/diner and a ground floor bathroom as well as a bathroom and two upstairs bedrooms.

VERDICT: The location is a key attraction.

One of the most affordable properties currently available in Douglas, No 25 Skehanore on the South Douglas Road is a two bed-ground floor apartment with a guide of €230,000.

Listed with Sonya Irwin of Behan Irwin and Gosling auctioneers, it’s an owner-occupied 60-square-metre property in a gated 1990s built complex.

The apartment’s accommodation includes a living room/kitchen a bathroom and two bedrooms and it also has a designated parking space. 

VERDICT: Affordable for a young buyer it could also attract investors.