Property Focus: Sales in these Cork Harbour villages are rare but interesting
Monkstown Castle has already undergone significant restoration.
Monkstown Castle — a magnificent semi-restored Elizabethan tower house with a guide of €800,000 — now seems to be almost the only property available for purchase in the picturesque Cork Harbour village.
Several other properties in the locality were advertised for sale but, when the checked with the auctioneers, we found that these were no longer available.
Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke, the selling agents for Monkstown Castle, says the popularity of the area means that properties were difficult to find in Monkstown even before Covid restrictions reduced to a trickle the supply of second-hand houses everywhere in the country.
It’s been a sought-after residential location since the 19th century, when it was developed as a seaside resort with a waterfront promenade, a pier, hydrobaths, steamboats, and later a railway line. The splendid Victorian terraced houses on the waterfront have long been highly-prized possessions, and the waterfront promenade is a very well-used amenity — possibly appreciated now more than any other time since it was built.
Pointing out that there has been very little new housing development in Monkstown in recent years, Mr Clarke says that the housing stock in the village mainly consists of Victorian terraced houses as well as large one-off modern properties on the surrounding hillsides.
“The Victorian terraced houses on the waterfront are very rare to the market — they usually sell in just a few weeks, and can fetch prices in excess of €600,000," he said.
That Monkstown properties are rare to the market can be seen from the fact that the Property Price Register shows just 16 sales there last year. (In 2018 there were 11). In 2020 it had three high-priced sales — Castle House (alongside the castle) sold for €850,000, Creek Cottage fetched €800,000, and Gaoth Thiar, a large modern house at Ballyorban went for €805,000.
In the nearby village of Passage West, which has seen a lot more new housing development in recent years, it’s almost equally impossible to find a new property for sale now.
The four apartments — one duplex and one townhouse priced between €155,000 and €215,000 — which were advertised online have all gone sale agreed. The last available property seems to Ard Padraig, a detached house in need of renovation on a one-acre site at Rathanker, on the market with Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue.
Modern townhouses, duplexes, and apartments in developments such as Pembroke Wood and Harbour Heights are, according to Mr Clarke, hugely popular with first-time buyers.
“You can buy a two-bed apartment for €200,000 to €220,000 in Passage, which is considerably less than you would pay for a similar property in the city," he says.
Like Monkstown, Passage West has a Victorian history, and was also a seaside holiday resort with passenger ships and a railway — but when a dockyard was established there, its development took a different direction. Most of its period terraced houses are considerably smaller than the grand ones on the waterfront in Monkstown.
During 2020, the Property Price Register shows 33 sales in Passage West — around a third of these are in the Pembroke Wood development, with prices ranging from €170,000 to €330,000. The most expensive property was 27 The Highlands, which sold for €445,000.
Glenbrook, which joins Passage West to Monkstown, recorded just four sales in 2020 — but, in 2019 had the highest price sale in the entire area in recent years when Ardmanagh, a large period property on the hillside above the harbour, sold for €1.05 million.
WHEN renovation is completed on Monkstown Castle, it is going to be magnificent. But, before this happens, a buyer needs to be found to purchase and complete the work on the semi-renovated 17th-century tower house which is on the market with a guide of €800,000.
“Serious restoration work has already been carried out, and it is ready for first fixing,” says Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke, explaining that the owner, who put it on the market a few years ago, has planning permission to turn it into three apartments.
A buyer could go ahead with that ten-bedroom plan, or use this to turn the 5,700 sq ft castle into three apartments with a total of ten bedrooms, or decide to turn it into one very large residence. Not a project for a faint-hearted buyer with shallow pockets — It has great potential and superb harbour views from the upper floors.
: Impressive because of its architecture, history, views, and its possibilities.
For a buyer looking for a Passage West property,ARD Padraig, a four-bed detached house on a one-acre site with a guide of €410,000, seems to be the only option for a buyer looking for a Passage West property.
When the Irish Examiner contacted the auctioneers listing properties in the area, it found that all the others — mostly apartments — have now gone sale agreed.
Selling agents for Ard Padraig, REAO’Donoghue & Clarke, say it needs major renovation and upgrading but has excellent potential.
“Originally a 1940s bungalow, it was extended in the 1980s and is now a two-storey house with 1250 sq ft of living space,” says auctioneer Stephen Clarke.
Selling points include the size of the site size, the fact that it’s elevated and has countryside views, and property’s being 6.5km from Douglas and 2.5km from Monkstown’s waterfront.
: Has good space and potential.
THE key attractions of the Lodge at Hop Island — situated almost halfway between Douglas and Passage West — are its two-acre site and 505ft stretch of water frontage.
The 1980s-built four-bed bungalow is on the market with Michael O’Donovan of Savills, who says that a property with this size site and water frontage is extremely rare to the market.
“It’s private and secure and has spectacular views of Lough Mahon,” he says, noting that the site comes with three stables and two garages, and has obvious development potential. In need of some updating, the property is one of only a small number of houses on Hop Island.
Located 4 km from Douglas village it’s 3.7km from Passage, The Lodge has a guide of €715,000.
: An interesting option for a buyer looking for a waterfront property on this side of the city.
AN option for a buyer who wants a home in Monkstown that’s a bit more manageable than a 17th-century castle in need of renovation is to buy a site and build their own.
While a few sites are advertised, the only one which still seems to be available is this a tenth of an acre one at Carrigmahon, offered with a guide of €180,000 by Dennehy Auctioneers.
“It has full planning permission for a 1,500 sq ft storey-and-a-half contemporary-style home as well as beautiful views over the River Lee estuary,” says auctioneer Roy Dennehy, adding that it’s within a short walk from the seafront at Monkstown.
Carved out of the garden on an adjoining property on Laurel Hill, the site overlooks the Glenbrook ferry terminal and is a little over 1km from Monkstown Pier.
: A site with scenic river views in an area where properties are hard to find.
