The holiday home market has been hit hard in recent years but initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way are luring buyers back to western counties. Many of these are UK-based with local connections.
They come with a very specific shopping list, says Sinéad O’Sullivan of Matt O’Sullivan Auctioneers in Clifden. “In Connemara they want a house with a sea view within walking distance of a pub, restaurant and shop.”
A holiday home in a beautiful setting may once have been considered the dream buy but splendid isolation is no longer enough, says architect Carole Pollard who has a holiday home overlooking a beach in Co Donegal. Holiday home hunters are beginning to realise that buying a house in a village has benefits.
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“In doing so you become part of the community and your kids get the freedom to run up the street by themselves to buy an ice cream in the local shop,” says Pollard who recently moderated a session at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties on the subject. As the children get older they’re free to walk to the local teen disco while parents can get out in the evening, walking to a pub or restaurant, without having to worry about driving on narrow roads or being over the limit, Pollard says.
Rural regeneration
She is not alone in her thinking. Eamon O’Flaherty of Maynooth-based Property Partners Brady and president of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) discussed the subject of rural regeneration at its annual conference last month. Originally from Co Longford he is acutely aware that the centres of rural towns and villages are dying.
“Most have a number of old boarded-up former residential-cum-commercial premises that have no future as a commercial entity,” he says.
IPAV’s pre-budget submission to the Government is calling for an incentive scheme for people to purchase these “non-viable” vacant buildings and convert them for residential use.
“If we can push for refurbishments to be tax-incentivised, there will no longer be empty butcher shops, drapers and homes in these towns. If locals do the refurbishments, it means money coming into the locale.”
When compared with the high prices in some of Ireland’s traditional holiday hotspots this is also an affordable option. You can buy some of these properties for as little as €50,000, says agent Keith Anderson, based in Donegal town.
Holiday hotspots
In the northwest, where the market is still in recovery, the smart buys are in villages adjacent to holiday hotspots, such as Dunfanaghy, where northern visitors account for about 90 per cent of the buyers.
A new breed of surfers have also discovered the place and its burgeoning cafe scene. But with the majority of properties here costing about €200,000 they will remain outside the reach of this new set.
However nearby Creeslough, which didn’t have a tourist scene until one enterprising local opened a “glampsite”, is an affordable alternative. A two-bedroom apartment here costs €45,000.
The north and south shores of Clew Bay remain the key holiday hotspots in Co Mayo, says Andrew Crowley of Sherry FitzGerald Crowley in Westport.
“Most visitors discover the region while touring the Wild Atlantic Way. In Louisburgh, popular because of its restaurants and pub offering, prices start from €110,000 and can go up to half a million but you can generally expect to pay up to €250,000 for a good three- or four-bedroom property.”
Newport is also a town on the rise, Crowley says. It has empty shops and homes in the town and his business here is already up by 20 per cent.
The market remains buoyant in west Cork, says Ray O’Neill of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill based in Clonakilty. His clients are mainly from the UK, who, buoyed by the strength of sterling, want to buy a house they can use as a vacation home in the short term but whose long-term plan is to move there full time.
Tax scheme properties
Former tax scheme properties in the town will cost between €120,000 and €180,000 while you can expect to pay between €160,000 and €180,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Inchydoney.
The problem is that some of the stock for sale are section 48 properties solely for use as a holiday home, a deterrent for many of these buyers, says O’Neill.
Three to buy
Ballintra, Co Donegal, €115,000
A four-bedroom townhouse in need of modernisation in the centre of the village just four miles from Rossnowlagh beach and within three miles of Murvagh beach and golf links. Seven miles south of Donegal town, it has a shop, butcher and pubs on the doorstep. anderson.ie
Glynsk, Cashel, Connemara, Co Galway €395,000
A three-bedroom newly built traditional-style cottage overlooking the southern shore of Cashel Bay with views of the Twelve Pins. It is less than a 10-minute walk to Glynsk House Hotel for a bite to eat and a drink. mattosullivan.com
Chapel Lane, Dingle, Co Kerry, €60,000
Former outhouses on 0.06 acre site that come with full planning permission for a one and a half storey house. With a bit of imagination, new owners could easily turn the place into a really attractive holiday home. westkerryproperties.ie
