House Hunting in Ireland: Bayside Serenity in County Cork for $1.3 Million

Market Overview

The country market in Ireland was “pretty quiet” before the coronavirus pandemic, Ms. De Vere Hunt said, with workers living near their offices in Dublin, Limerick and other cities.

After the lockdown, “it was like rocket fuel added to the property market,” said Maeve McCarthy, the director at Charles McCarthy Estate Agents, an affiliate of Mayfair International Realty, in West Cork, a coastal municipality in County Cork. “That really opened up the property market here.”

People originally from the area moved back from Dublin or Limerick to work remotely. “Wi-Fi, home offices, all of that worked for people,” Ms. De Vere Hunt said. “That is the dream. You get the quality of life with your children. Go fishing for lunch, go for a walk and ride your horse rather than sitting in two hours of traffic. ”

Kinsale, a historic port and yachting town of about 5,000 residents in County Cork, with colorful galleries and a Michelin-starred restaurant, is among the most desirable (and most expensive) places for buyers without local ties. Prices for waterfront property can reach 5 million euros, said Catherine McAuliffe, director of Cork residential at Savills Ireland. (The euro, which has fallen to its lowest level in years, is currently exchanging at roughly an equal rate with the U.S. dollar.)

Near Dublin, the seaside resorts of Dalkey and Howth are also coveted, said Guy Craigie, director of residential for Knight Frank Ireland. In County Kerry, near Cork, the rural area known as the Ring of Kerry is popular.