Latest news with #AdriannaHegarty
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Buyers from 'The Pale' flock to sunspot Ballycotton as village marks first €1m+ house sale
IS Dublin, and Leinster, doing to East Cork's Ballycotton what American buyers are doing to Kinsale, driving prices up a gear, or several? Recent and just agreed sales would indicate an unqualified 'yes.' 5 Atlantic Terrace is new to market with agent Adrianna Hegarty: it dates to the early 1800s They include sale terms agreed after a swift and unrelenting bidding war at €1.1m for the refurbished Troy House, our May 10 Property & Home p1 and internal feature of a home done to the n-th degree by an interior designer owner Troy House is sale agreed at €1.1m, the strongest price to date in East Cork's Ballycotton : it soared past its €695,000 AMV, being bought by a Leinster purchaser, with a US bidder at the same €1.1 sum failing to get to view before the vendor accepted the Irish offer from within The Pale. Interior of Troy House Also just sale agreed is the diminutive boathouse, a wreck in stones on a tiny footprint by a secondary pier used by local fishermen: the old boathouse went for sale in April, guiding €70,0000 and is been bought by a Dulin bidder for €205k, to local amazement, with the buyer reportedly 'loving a project,' says selling agent Adrianna Hegarty, who says he hasn't disclosed if he plans a residential bolthole right by the water, or some commercial use. Ballycotton's old boathouse sale agreed at €200,000 'The holiday home here has taken off, people have waited years for supply here,' says Ms Hegarty as her June 2025 launch of 5 Atlantic Terrace at €395,000 (it's an executor sale) already has bidding on the c 700 sq ft quaint two-bed at €425,000 late this week, and is still climbing. View from 5 Atlantic Terrace With sea and pier views, and dual aspect/access, the compact early 19th century home has a wood-burning stove, double glazing and central heating, but still scores a F BER. Living room at 5 Atlantic Terrace Ms Hegarty notes sales on the charming terrace are uncommon, and attributes the current demand for the seaside village to a number of factors: She includes the proximity of Ballymaloe House, its cookery school and the Castlemartyr Resort; the impact of local entrepreneur Pearse Flynn whose Sea Church music venue, and just repositioned Cush restaurant (ex Pier 26) as well as the Blackbird pub and café has massively broadened the profile and driven visitor numbers to new heights. Daughter Niamh Hegarty of the same Midleton-based agency agrees: she says that relative proximity to Cork city and the airport also aids access - while parts of West Cork can be two or more hours from the city; she adds that online social media such as TikTok and Instagram reels are boosting Ballycotton's profile, beaches and beauty even further, with a number of major UK and US influencers adding to the overall lifestyle picture. 'The surprise isn't that it's happening to Ballycotton, the surprise is it's taken so long,' Niamh Hegarty says simply.
Irish Examiner
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Hybrid work drives appetite for new housing in East Cork
A demographic bulge, net inward migration, returning Irish expats and work from home options for relocators from Dublin, London, the Middle and Far East and North America and elsewhere are (as elsewhere) helping underpin the strength of the East Cork property market. A recent has reported findings of 26,200 mortgage drawdowns in 2024, which was the highest since 2007 — even as new home completions for last year at just over 30,000, according to the Central Statistics Office, fell below the Government target and are still proving laggardy coming towards the mid-point of 2025. Belvelly bridge near Fota wildlife park. Population growth will require another bridge in this area. Though mover activity has softened of late, with drawdowns down 20% on pre-Covid levels, Midleton estate agent Adrianna Hegarty notes: 'We're seeing this gap partially filled by returning expats and hybrid-working professionals relocating from Dublin and beyond.' Despite more properties being listed online, available stock is still down year-on-year, and most homes are achieving 10–15% above asking, Adrianna adds, with the rise of green mortgages (tied to BERs of B3 or better) has notably shifted buyer preferences, such that homes with B and A-BER's 'are being fast-tracked by mortgage lenders and buyers alike, commanding strong interest due to their energy upgrades, comfort levels, and their long-term savings potential.' The rich agricultural land base of East Cork, and long and often sandy shoreline with dramatic headlands and hidden coves, along with toes in the water at Cork habour, coastal villages and architecturally impressive towns like Cobh on Great Island, mean a wide variety of properties available for home hunters — from brand new and future-proofed A-rated new builds, to and modern family homes, ranches and rural bungalows, townhouses and terraces, humble cottages to historic period houses and farms (land value are hitting €20k an acre for good land), as well as one-of-a-kind lifestyle properties worth digging out and relocating to (case in point? Hegarty Properties' listing of an old boathouse on the secondary pier in Ballycotton, a stone, arched ruin with a €70,000 AMV on launch. Haulbowline, an island with strong naval history and shipbuilding, one of many centres of employment in East Cork. Pic: Chani Anderson Despite — or indeed perhaps because of — effectively being a cul de sac with the next stop being the ocean, Ballycotton is becoming an East Cork lifestyle outlier (see also this weekend's Property & Home pages) with an appeal to match almost any West Cork coastal community: expect the ripples to spread to the likes of Shangarry, Aghada and Youghal in coming years as remote-hybrid working continues to hold appeal in a post-pandemic period, when lifestyle, and access to natural amenities, beaches, woods and rivers as well as to locations of sports, greenways and hobbies has moved up the wish-list scale. East Cork picks up its pace as soon as you leave wooded Tivoli and the Dunkettle interchange (a big O'Flynn Group residential scheme at Dunkathel House will draw even more to the charms of the east), starting at Little Island, passing Great Island (Cobh) and on to Capel Island in Youghal. Little Island alone has over 1,000 businesses, and after the delivery of several new business parks in the past five years is likely to now see employment at up to 10,000 persons, with major investment by the likes of Eli Lilly, Cara Partners and Pepsi, with many working there able to buy homes and live in and around East Cork, at locations like market town Midleton (as well as the home of major employer Irish Distillers) back with a bang after floods two years ago, Carrigtwohill, the harbour hinterland, as well as Glounthaune and that Great Island, Cobh. An O'Flynn Group residential scheme at Dunkathel House will draw a lot of people towards the east of Cork. The Georgian mansion set in 59.4 hectares (146 Acres) at the north eastern entrance to Cork City. International buyers 'have been buying in Cobh solidly for the last three years, and particularly in the last six months,' says agent Johanna Murphy who says sales (and, increasingly) prices have been strong since the start of this year too. 'Normally they have a connection with Cobh, or they just want to retire here,' she says. 'They are buying houses from €250,000 up to €1.5m, and even commercial property where they can get a return. 'There are hidden gems in Cobh, period homes that have been in families for generations and again when they do come up for sale they attract international buyers as they are so rare to come by, and of course the views over Cork harbour are some of the best in the country.' As ever, the harbour is a key performer for the wider Cork and indeed Munster area, for shipping, industry, lifestyle and tourism, increasing as a residential option too …. while an urgency to be addressed clearly now is the need for a second bridge access to Cobh/Great Island to supplement the venerable arched one to be found at Belvelly, as well as the cross-river ferry and the thankfully retained and vastly enhanced rail line, as pretty a journey as any on this entire island.
Irish Examiner
09-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
East Cork: Beautiful region is a real property hot spot
East Cork is 'no longer the bridesmaid, and never the bride' when it comes to comparisons between the eastern and western sections of Ireland's biggest county, Cork. While West Cork traditionally has had a halo effect from its rugged landscape, coastline, art appeal and celebrity allure, East Cork is no slouch either, in terms of beautiful places to live, outdoor attractions, strong tourism draws and attractions as well as valuable, well-paid employment options. And, it's on the move, with improving accessibility as a spur, and a growing profile as an attractive and viable commuter option for the greater Cork area. With all the aspirational talk about a light rail service for Cork city — LUAS Cork — the reality is there's already a commuter rail service in Cork, up to Mallow along the Dublin line, with expansion plans for around Blarney and other stations. Even more vigorously, the East Cork service serving Cobh, and out to Midleton and points between with more such as at Water Rock for Midleton's booming new quarter, is getting constant upgrades. Expanded twin-track sections are on the way, and with increased regularity: it's up to every half an hour and train reliability leaves city buses in the shade. Much of Cork's future population growth is being directed eastwards, thanks to the sustainability of rail travel, with points past Glanmire such as Glounthaune, Carrigtwohill and Midleton on track literally and metaphorically to provide thousands of homes in the next five to ten years — some 2,500 new builds in Midleton alone, in locations like Lakeview and Water Rock. 'Upcoming rail line upgrades between Cork city, Carrigtwohill, and Midleton are transforming these towns into true commuter hubs: Cork Co Council's development plans continue to prioritise East Cork for sustainable residential growth,' says Midleton-based estate agent Adrianna Hegarty. Similarly, Cobh-based agent Johanna Murphy comments: 'Cobh is now becoming very much a commuter town and the main reason is that we have an excellent transport system – the train runs every half-hour — and we have a bus service Cobh Connect. It takes half an hour to get to Cobh and it's a scenic trip both up and down. 'The whole idea of living on an Island is another concept that people are finding extremely attractive — after all, let's face it, to live on an island, just half an hour from Cork city is something out of a fairytale,' Ms Murphy adds. Apart from the lure of lifestyle appeal around Cobh, Cork harbour's fringes and beaches galore both inside the harbour and right out to 'sleeping giant' Youghal (there's growing calls for the rail line to parallel the new greenway right back to Youghal one more, and rightly so) at the county's far tip, another key element is relative affordability of housing, both new and second hand, often at a fraction of city values, and those in West Cork which in many cases hit stratospheric levels — Kinsale, admittedly, is right off the charts! Work is under way at Ballynatray House, on the banks of the River Blackwater, British billionaire James Dyson's €30+m home on the Cork-Waterford border. Photo: Larry Cummins Off the charts in terms of East Cork is breaching the €1m barrier, only rarely done around main towns (one of the first was the modern and high-end Capri Lodge in Midleton making €1.1m last year via agent James Colbert): but, there's definitely going to be a knock-on effect from the €30m+ plus purchase of the Ballynatray Estate on the Cork-Waterford border by UK billionaire James Dyson just over a year ago. The Blackwater buy is Ireland's most expensive private house/estate purchase ever, bar the €58m paid for Dublin's Walford, and that was bough as a development play that went south. Dyson's further spend on Ballynatray is already having an effect on the local economy around Youghal, in terms of accommodation for work crews, materials, and service, and will have a continuing impact locally and in the town, with a consequent 'halo' effect likely too. Value for money has been quite real in East Cork: the average price for three-bed semis in the region is c.€ 300,000, and closer to or €335,000 in the main bustling towns. However, BER A-rated new housing stock is now priced in the €400,000/€450,000 level after recent years of near-double-digit price inflation and material costs increase. Price examples quoted by Suzanne Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing for the rapidly evolving Water Rock Midleton by Clancy Construction have three-bed 100 sq m semis at €405k, 127 sq m four-beds at €475k and larger (152 sq m ) ones at €520,000 in the 300-unit (200 houses) strong development Ard Griffin. First handovers will be Q3 2025 and buyers are 'a mix of locals and Corkonians in general as well as 'new Irish' all commenting on the positive location and easy access to transport networks, says Ms Tyrrell, adding 'the general Water Rock area will be a hive of activity with a new train station stop, schools, nursing homes etc planned.' The same Cohalan Downing agent is also selling the final phase of Harpers Creek, Glounthaune, The Crest, with 108 sq m three-bed semis at €445,000, 128 sqm ones at €485,000 and four-bed semis of 152sqm at €580k to € 590,000. In Cobh, new three-bed homes are coming to market from €80,000 to €450,000: 'That might be OK if you have two good salaries coming in but not everyone does, and I think the market in Cobh caters for everyone, with so many grants available to buyers now to help them renovate,' notes estate agent Johanna Murphy, adding that 'you can buy a terraced house in Cobh anything from €200,000 to €250,000.'
Irish Examiner
24-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Buyer wanted for this €70k tiny Ballycotton boathouse dream. Or, dreamer wanted for this buy?
IT'S small, it's not perfectly formed, and it's either imperfectly or perfectly placed — but boy, this could be a beauty? Up for sale as an oddity, as a challenge, and as a chance to do something special (but, just what is the question?) is The Old Boathouse, located just above the water and the waves, at Ballycotton Harbour in East Cork. Boats for your boathouse... It's listed this week with estate agent Adrianna Hegarty, of Hegarty Properties, it has a €70,000 price guide, but valuing this one-off is nigh impossible? In one way, it's only a heap of stones with an outline and arch left on a tiny footprint of around 120sq m — that plot is about the size of a bungalow? — and with a history going back Ms Hegarty reckons to the 1830s. However, it has clearly seen better and more productive days here on the water's edge in the pretty seaside village with boats and fishing in its blood. It other ways, it's got that ineffable aura of 'potential' either for some accommodation use, as a guest pad of character, weekend getaway, or as a commercial operation — such as a coffee house or café — or some marine-related use. Ms Hegarty says she's getting almost random initial inquiries, as well as from those who love the sea and who would perhaps restore it to some boat or fishing use. It could be an Airbnb moneyspinner and a winner on Instagram with such a love out there for 'tiny homes'. On that score alone, it certainly scores. Access point, down steps It's got right of way access from Main Street, no services to hand to talk about, no roof, little more than a view, but 'is more than a building — it's a gateway to something extraordinary in one of East Cork's most beloved coastal communities,' says its selling agent VERDICT: A wooden 20sq m beach hut near Christchurch, at Mudeford Sandbank in Dorset, England, sold last autumn for £485,000, within 48 hours of going to market — with two previous hut sales there also in excess of £400,000. Sail of the century at €70k? So, clearly if the location is hot enough and the sea close enough, there's a buyer for every dream… Or is that a dreamer for every buy?
