10 mansions for the price of a city apartment
A period home in the country or a two-bed in Dublin 1? Mark Keenan highlights the growing value gap
THE huge value chasm that has opened between city and country homes since the crash means it is now possible to buy a period country mansion for the price of a two-bed apartment in Dublin. Dublin city homes have shot up in value since the recovery began due to tight supply, but those properties located in more isolated rural locations which have remained unaffected by improving economic conditions, have been much slower to regain price.
It means that eight bedroom mansions on their own grounds can now be acquired for the same price — or in some cases, less than half of the price — of a tiny home now deemed ‘affordable’ in the capital under the new state loan scheme.
Under the Rebuilding Ireland Loan, which kicked off earlier this month, state mortgages are being made available through local authorities to those who cannot get on the property ladder with an upper price ‘affordable home’ limit of
€320,000 cited in Dublin for those who have been refused loans by the banks
According to the Irish Independent’s How Much Is Your House Worth 2018? which values all homes nationwide (now available online at independent. ie) , €320,000 currently buys a two-bed cottage in Dublin 8 (€320,000), an ex Corporation two-bed terrace in Dublin
16 (€310,00), a one-bedroom apartment in Dublin 4 (€320,000), a three-bed semi in Dublin 22 (€280,000), a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin 13 (€290,000) or a two-bedroom apartment in D1, Dublin’s north inner city (€320,000) .
However, for the same price of a D1 twobed, you can own a 15-bedroom mansion in Roscommon measuring 10,529 sq ft — or
10 times the size of an average city family semi — and still have change of €20,000.
To demonstrate the massive value gap that now exists between urban and rural properties, Independent Property set out on a virtual mansion shopping tour with €320,000 to spend and with the goal of finding ten mansions with not less than six bedrooms for the price of that D1 city apartment or less.
Most need work, some need use change, one has lease complications on an attached property and some are in isolated locations; but all are huge homes with at least six bedrooms attached and all can be bought for €320,000 or less
1. A 15-bedroom period house at Boyle —
€300,000
The 15 bedroom period house includes a dramatic two-storey pillared portico. Set on grounds with landscaped gardens, it has eight bathrooms, four reception rooms three kitchens and a private chapel. There is also a second property — a two-storey lodge — located on the site.
The house is located in the centre of Boyle in Co Roscommon, within 10km of Carrick on Shannon. As a former convent the property is habitable but in need of modernisation. The property is available from Property Team Smith Kelly Scott.
2. A six-bed mansion with seven acres at Ratoath — guiding €260,000
Few details are available from the agents
BidX1, the online auctioneers, in relation to this detached six-bedroom house of
3,638 sq ft at Loughlinstown near Ratoath in Co Meath, which comes with 6.7 acres attached and two rounded bays.
The property, which seems to be a period house, is one of those going for sale towards the end of the month through the
BidX1 online auction system on February
22 next.
3. A 300-year old Georgian in Roscommon — €150,000
For less than half of the price of a two-bed- room apartment in Dublin 1 comes Laragh House at Ballintubber in Roscommon, a 300-year-old three-storey detached home of 4,000 sq ft with a five acres of land and a courtyard to the rear. This house has six bedrooms, with a dessing room, ensuite and viewing balcony off the master chamber. The house is 9km from Castlerea and 22km from Roscommon Town. The selling agent is Property Partners Earley.
4. A detached period house in Carlingford — guiding €225,000
Going through the BidX1 auction on February 22 is an historic house in the tourist seaside town of Carlingford in Co Louth. Mountain View on Dundalk Street is one of the town’s largest houses and it comes with three reception rooms, seven bedrooms and a significant commercial premises and yard site to the rear of the property.
There is a catch however with this one, as
the commercial premises is currently subject to a tenancy of unknown terms to the vendor. The house will need work but has obvious guesthouse potential.
5. A former parochial house in Clare —
€250,000.
Spanning 3,132 sq ft, the Old Parochial House at Kilmihil in Co Clare has three reception rooms and seven bedrooms, five of which are ensuite. This period house was constructed in the 1870s and has been restored comprehensively in recent years. It includes gardens of 1.38 acres and is located close to Doonbeg on the Wild Atlantic Way tourist trail. The agent is Property Partners Earley.
6. A Williamite-era eight-bed in Athlone —
€299,000
The Moorings at Ballymahon Road in Athlone, Co Westmeath was built in 1835 during the reign of William IV. The large detached three-bay house stands two storeys over a basement level and has eight bedrooms and four bathrooms.
It was redesigned in 1880 and extended in 1990 with a single-bay, single-storey extension. The period house has for a time been divided into three substantial flats and currently includes five reception rooms. Five minute’s drive from the town centre on the Ballymahon Road, it was once the seat of the Broderick family and home to the novelist John Broderick who was born here in the 1920’s and socialised with Gore Vidal and Truman Capote. His novels were published from the 1960s and many were banned here.
At 3,864 sq ft, it is almost four times the size of an average city family home. The house needs work and is available through agent Sherry FitzGerald Dermot O’Meara.
7. An 1815-built manse in Longford —
€249,500
Constructed in the same year that Napoleon lost all at Waterloo, Lisnabo is located at Newtownforbes and it comes with seven bedrooms and two bathrooms in all spanning 3,950 sq ft — almost four times the size of an average city semi.
It once served as a Church of Ireland school and later became the home of a doctor and his family. It comes with four ages of paddocks and has three receptions rooms, as well as the former doctor’s office and waiting room. The seven bedrooms spaced are spaced over two wings.
There’s a stable yard with the original stone buildings. The house needs a major refurbishment. The selling agent is DNG Frank Regan.
8. A modern six-bed home at Bailieborough — €299,000
Some of the cheapest commutable homes are located in Cavan, where Castle House at No 2 the Lear comes with six bedrooms and four bathrooms. Approached via imposing entrance gates through an uphill driveway, the red-brick two-storey home spans 3,300 sq ft — more than three times the size of an average semi.
Ready to move into, and in excellent consition, this house has its own cinema room, a sitting room, an open plan kitchen/dining room, a conservatory and is equipped with a Jacuzzi bath. The main bedroom has a Triton shower ensuite. The agent is Martin Shortt Auctioneers.
9. A rectory in Cavan — guiding €230,000
A detached seven-bedroom period house which once served as the Glebe House is on offer at Kildallon near Belturbet in Co Cavan.
The two-storey over-basement period house has an extensive amount of outbuildings and lands extending to 40 acres of which 20 acres are in woodlands. So this property also offers hobby farming or small holding potential.
The house is 25km from Cavan Town and requires a good deal of work. The Glebe House goes under the hammer online through BidX1 on February 22 with a lowest guide of €230k guaranteed.
10. A nine-bedroom seafront home in Bundoran — €297,500
Bundoran has long been a popular seaside resort and although currency fluctuations through Brexit have not helped it of late. Thalassa House at Westend, Bundoran is a substantial detached stone house run until recently as a guesthouse.
For this reason the grounds are largely in parking. It has a main reception, a dining room, a sitting room, a sun lounge, and nine ensuite bedrooms and is located 100 metres from the sea. The agent is Schiller and Schiller.
‘The red-brick twostorey home is more than three times the size of an average semi’