Starter Homes: Four Cork properties on the market from €195k

The colourful flower mural at the front of Pink Cottage on Newman’s Mall in Kinsale isn’t just for decoration - it’s also a useful means of letting Airbnb guests identify the property.

Located in the centre of the town, it’s a tiny one-bed, mid-terrace house which was upgraded in the early 2000s and turned into a holiday rental

James Murphy of Kinsale Property who just launched it with a guide of €315,000, says the property, which originally dates from the 1760s, has 59 sq metres of living space and is quaint and full of old-world charm.

"The owners put in triple windows including sliding sash ones at the front and also upgraded the kitchen and bathroom and installed a stove in the sitting room,” he says noting that the upstairs bedroom still has its old oak floorboards.

The ground floor has a small hallway and an open-plan living /dining space as well as a small kitchen with modern units at the rear. An open tread staircase with a nautically themed rope banister leads to the upstairs which has a prettily decorated bedroom and an upgraded bathroom.

On-street at the front, the property has a small courtyard garden with colourful pot plants at the rear. The BER rating of the house is a G so a new owner will want to improve on this.

Mr Murphy says the majority of interest is coming from buyers who want a Kinsale bolthole but is also receiving enquiries from investors.

VERDICT: Small but centrally located and colourful.

Affordable for a first-time buyer in Bandon, N11 Cork Road is a two-bed mid-terrace house with a guide of €195,000.

Auctioneer Majella Galvin of DNG Galvin says the 1960s-built property has been renovated and revamped since being bought in the early 2000s by the current owner who has turned it into a charming home with an attractively planted gravel garden at the rear.

There are 70 sq metres of accommodation including a timber floored sitting/dining room with a fireplace, a small kitchen and a bathroom. The upstairs has two bedrooms including one with bookshelves used as an office. The BER rating is an E2 so it would benefit from an energy upgrade

VERDICT: Well-presented and affordable.

There’s garden enough at 40 Marian Park in Blackrock to play a really good game of hide and seek or to build a large extension or possibly even a small swimming pool.

“This modest two-bed semi with a south-facing garden long enough to make your jaw drop,’’ says Jim Coughlan of James G Coughlan & Associates who reckons that it’s 52 metres long.

On the market with a guide of €335,00, the 1950s-built property has 71 sq metres of living space. It’s been well maintained and fitted with gas heating and double glazing but has an E2 BER and would benefit from modernisation and upgrading

The ground floor has a sitting room with tiled fireplace while the kitchen at the rear has modern units and the upstairs has a bathroom and two bedrooms.

Overlooking a central green, the house has a front garden which doesn’t have an entrance for a car, but the neighbours' properties do, so presumably this could be changed. The garden at the rear goes on and on and has some trees at the bottom.

Viewers who check out the property on Google Maps will see that many of the neighbours have built extensions.

Sales of nearby properties include that of No 39, which sold in 2015 for €207,000, in 2020 for €390,000 and in 2023 for €560,000 by which time it had been extended and thoroughly modernised.

Mr Coughlan says that viewings held during the week booked out immediately, attracting a lot of interest from first-time buyers including quite a few with thoughts of extension.

VERDICT: Even after it’s extended - it will still have a large garden.

The quarter of an acre site that comes with this 1970s bungalow at Wroxham, Hoddersfield near Crosshaven provides scope to extend.

Seeking offers of €370,000, Johnny O’Connor of Barry Auctioneers says the three-bed former rental property is well maintained but in need of modernisation. "It’s three km from Crosshaven and 2km from Fountainstown Beach and would be brilliant for those looking for a large outdoor space."

A five sq metre property it has a kitchen, a living room a bathroom and three bedrooms.

VERDICT: Needs to be modernised and updated but has lots of potential.