Irish country house sales at highest level in H1 2023 since 2010, says Savills report

Among the top Irish and Munster sales is that of Sprayfield House in Sandycove, near Kinsale, for a likely €4.5m on 40 acres, and showing on the Price Register at €3.8m as a value on the Georgian villa on one acre: it was sold by Savills’ Michael O’Donovan to US billionaire James Berwind, as exclusively reported in the Irish Examiner in July after a May 2023 market launch for an Irish vendor. The buyer is currently doing work on his purchase, visiting in the summer months on his €80m superyacht Scout.

Also sold in Cork, but yet to appear on the Price Register, is Cuskinny House in Cork Harbour, on 37 acres with formal gardens for c €2m via agent Michael H Daniels and Knight Frank, to a local Cork buyer with a young family. The remaining 105 acres of farmland are being offered in two lots: 80 acres at €1.5m and 25 acres with a cottage at €500k, with current interest shown.

While residential property price inflation has been slowing nationally for more than a year, most notably in Dublin, “prices are growing strongest on a
regional basis, with prices in the south-east and the south-west holding up well,” say Savills. “These regions are home to popular prime country home locations like Kinsale and Glengarrif, Co Cork, and Caragh Lake, Co Kerry.”

While mortgage holders and would-be buyers “can expect the high-interest-rate environment to persist for the months ahead, country home purchasers should nevertheless be relatively shielded from these conditions as they are often cash buyers who are not reliant on borrowing for their transaction,” says this week’s Savills report, adding that despite tighter lending conditions “consumer sentiment remains upbeat”.

Savills report on H1 2023 chart 69 sales, up 7.85% from a strong 2022, the strongest year since 2010, and at an average value of €1.5m.

Counties Kildare and Wicklow head the number of deals, with Cork in third place at 11%, down from a high of 33% in 2022, with concluded sales worth €12m across eight deals.

The drop reflects “a greater geographical distribution of purchases across Ireland compared to previous years”. Noting 31% of buyers were from overseas, primarily from the UK and the US, motivations for purchasing an Irish country home varied, with British purchasers often looking to relocate to Ireland because of family ties, often couples with children, where one parent was Irish.

The continuing trend of working from home post-pandemic led to “a good level of activity among domestic buyers, who are leveraging the opportunity to relocate to coastal villages or scenic rural landscapes, or to be closer to home.”

The Irish wing of Savills’ analysis also suggests that Irish buyers, in the majority, were “seeking out family homes that suit their lifestyles, rather than searching for a second home or an investment property. Irish buyers are also generally not concerned with finding a modernised property, indicating their willingness to invest in a refurbishment that delivers a home for life.”

Cash buyers made up 69% of total transactions — 28% of these buyers were relocating, and a similar proportion were buying a second home. By comparison, only 13% of mortgage purchasers were relocating.

“Higher interest rates should have little direct impact on this segment of the market as mortgage affordability affects few buyers,” note Savills. “Yet, while cash buyers are not directly impacted by the high-interest-rate environment, its effect on mortgage holders can have knock-on effects by reducing their activity in the market. While this would logically lead to a softening in prices, the restricted supply of prime country homes continues to support prices and makes them a much-sought-after asset within the wider residential property market.”

Also noted is a trend for property sales on large, 100+ acre landbanks, as these “allow buyers to make an ecological impact on the local area with initiatives such as rewilding, enhancing the natural habitat, and helping to counteract environmental degradation”.

“This appeals to many buyers because it can help them to meet — both their personal and professional — ESG and sustainability commitments,” says the report. “It is a trend that is likely to grow as the urgency of climate action continues to amplify and, consequently, we expect property purchases on large plots of land to become a bigger feature of the Irish country homes market.”