Commuters go for good value country houses

The country house market in 2004 was once again dominated by Irish buyers with a steady rise in the number of returning expats entering the market as well as strong interest from UK buyers.

The favourable exchange rate for sterling spenders has made Irish prices, which can look alarmingly high to other overseas buyers, particularly attractive.

The biggest sale of the year was the €11 million paid by a UK businessman for Ballynatray House on the river Blackwater, near Youghal, Co Cork. It's not just the biggest country house sale of the year, according to Robert Ganly of Ganly Walters who sold the 413-acre estate jointly with Bill Montgomery of Sothebys, it's also the highest price ever paid for a country house that will be used as a private home.

The late Georgian mansion had been meticulously restored by a wealthy continental couple, Serge Boissevian and his wife Henriette, a member of the von Thyssen family. The new owner is a commercial property developer based in London with substantial property holdings in the UK and the continent. The house had been on the market for a year. Another major sale was Killeen House, Kill, Co Kildare, a restored Georgian house on 19 acres with stables which fetched a strong €5.15 million when it was sold by joint agents Lisney and Miley Auctioneers in April.

The country house market tends to be low key with buyers preferring anonymity. But there were a couple of famous names that went public including comedian Graham Norton and maths and detox whiz Carol Voderman. Both bought in West Cork, off auctioneer Charlie McCarthy, Norton taking on the challenging task of restoring the magnificently situated Ahakista House in Bandon to its former glory and Voderman opting for a modern house, Barnadon in Glandore. Both properties sold for around €1.5 million.

While these sales made the headlines, it was the steady sale of properties in the €1 million to €4 million price band that kept country house agents busy. All agents report that improved infrastructure links has made an increasing number of Dublin business people reassess their lifestyle choices and opt for the space and value that is still to be found in the country house market.

"Purchasers from Dublin accounted for 57 per cent of our country house sales this year," says David Ashmore, of HOK's country homes division. "Buyers were interested in the inner and outer commuter counties of Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Wicklow and Louth."

HOK Country also found that only 8 per cent of purchasers came from overseas with the figure increasing for properties over €2m.

Some of the biggest prices achieved this year were for country properties within a manageable daily commute to Dublin. Edward Townshend, of Colliers Jackson Stops cites Mount Windsor House, Donadea, Co Kildare, as a particular example. The period house with about 15 acres and 23 miles from the city centre sold at auction for €3.1 million. The same agent also sold Moorhill, Brannockstown, Co Kildare with about 150 acres for €3.75 million. Buyers, according to Townshend, are particularly attracted to homes already renovated to a high contemporary standard.

It's not just Dubliners who are active in the country market. Susan Kirk, of Coonan Real Estate Alliance based in Kildare, says that a great deal of interest in the higher-priced country properties comes from locals looking to move up to a more substantial home in their area. Among her sales this year were Wyanstown House, a newly-built house on 96 acres in Oldtown, Co Dublin which went for €4.7 million; Streamstown House, a period Victorian on 12 acres in Rathmoylan, Co Meath which sold after withdrawal from auction for around €1.5 million, and Ballykeelan House on six acres in Dundadee, a refurbished farmhouse which made €1.54 million. For Kirk, the surprise sale of the year was a modest land commission cottage in Millicent, near Sallins on 35 acres, which was guiding €700,000 but fetched €1.4 million.

Agents are predicting that the hunting ban in the UK will encourage sterling-rich hunters to buy a country bolt hole here.

Other strong prices produced by the commuting counties in 2004 included Borleigh Manor Estate, Wexford, a Georgian house with about 120 acres of parkland and an ornamental lake which sold after auction for region €3.5 million; the modern Wish Willow Stud, Co Wicklow, with about 45 acres sold for €2.7 million (both through Colliers Jackson Stops); Bellview, Athy on 138 acres sold for €3 million, Millbank, Mountrath on seven acres, made €930,000 (both through Kildare auctioneer Paddy Jordan); Ginnetts Park, Summerhill, Co Meath, on 500 acres including a hardwood forest, sold for €3 million, Newport House, Donabate, Co Dublin on 130 acres of zoned agricultural land sold after auction for around €3.5 million (both through Ganly Walters); Santa Clara, Straffan, Co Kildare, which sold for €1.65 million; Mardon, Millicent, Sallins which sold for €2.12 (both through Lisney). Allens Grove, Leixlip, made €3million through Property Partners Brady and Co.

Outside of the commuter belt there were also strong sales. Cork agent Michael Daniels, who sells throughout Munster, says the supply of manageable Georgian houses in good condition continue,3 to be in short supply despite strong demand. He sold Brideweir, Conna, Co Cork for just under €1.45 million and South Lodge, Clonmel for over €1.6 million.

And yes, another year goes by and Humewood, the magnificent Gothic mansion, in a walled 438-acre estate in Wicklow is still on the market, through Ganly Walters for €16 million.