Blackrock, Midleton, and Ballincollig: Four Cork homes under €310,000

Much like some of the artisan cottages dotted around Cork city, the homes in this redbrick terrace in Midleton were probably built to house workers, possibly from the distillery.

No 2 Clonmult Terrace is a well-kept Victorian-era home, with some obvious upgrades, such as replacement windows and a kitchen extension with raised ceiling and skylights.

The layout was re-jigged downstairs and an internal wall removed so that the ground floor is more or less entirely open plan. Upstairs has room for two double bedrooms, both with skylights.

A small rear courtyard with gated access faces south east.

Selling the 68 sqm property is Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties and she says it’s a great house for first-time buyers.

“The location is superb. Clonmult Terrace is a mature residential area in a very central location, just a short stroll from Midleton town centre,” the agent says.

She adds that Midleton Train Station is also within walking distance.

“It’s a great house for a first time buyer, perfect for a single person or for a couple,” Ms Hegarty adds.

The house is guiding at €205,000. Its C3 energy rating isn’t bad for its age.

VERDICT: Neat starter home in solid location.

There’s a lot to be done to this semi-detached property, no 29 Dunlocha Cottages, but because of the popularity of its Blackrock location, lots of buyers should be willing to do it.

That’s the expectation of auctioneer Timothy Sullivan, who says the small, 1930s-built two-bed cottage, located within a ten-minute walk from Blackrock pier, has garden space for an extension and good potential.

Offering just 56 sq metres of living space, it has been extended at the rear and upgraded, but has a G BER rating and needs significant modernisation. The layout is quirky and includes a sitting room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms, as well as a bathroom extension.

The cottage has a small garden at the front and a long one at the side with a huge tree. There’s space to extend and it’s likely that a new owner might also apply for planning permission for a parking area.

The cottage started out with a much larger garden, but a section was sold off as a site.

Recent sales on the lane include No 20, which went for €335,000 in 2022 after it had been smartly modernised, extended and given an energy upgrade. Before being renovated, it sold in 2021 on a larger site for €350,000. In 2021 another renovated property at No 21 sold for €315,000. Dunlocha Cottages, a lane with 35 single-storey properties, is a ten-minute drive from Mahon Point Shopping Centre.

VERDICT: Affordable for Blackrock

This stylishly decorated fully furnished duplex apartment with guide of €275,000 at No 3 Charleston Wharf in Midleton might well be the answer to some first-time buyers' prayers.

Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Property says the ground floor property, which has a waterfront terrace with views of the estuary, is in showhouse condition.

At ground floor level it has an open plan kitchen/dining/living room with a contemporary kitchen, a guest WC and a bedroom used as a living room.

Upstairs there's a galleried ensuite bedroom with a huge window overlooking the water.

VERDICT: A stylish and affordable waterfront property it’s located a little less than two km from the town centre

Disappointed underbidders are being offered a second chance to purchase this modern top-floor two-bed apartment with a roof terrace at 21 Tara, An Caislean in Ballincollig.

The property, which went sale agreed for well above its guide earlier in the year, is back on with a guide of €310,000. Michaella Buckley of O’Mahony Walsh is again expecting high levels of interest in the 85 sq metres owner-occupied property which is located within a km from the town centre.

VERDICT

: The large private roof terrace is quite a selling point.