With the mourning period set to run a little longer more vendors are lowering their asking prices.  As a net result Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates has seen much better selling results than anticpated for 2009.

Though values are continuing to fall more people are purchasing, especially so in the case of once off – second hand housing.  Selling activity in recent months around Bantry Bay has brought much needed confidence.  Harrington Estates are able to confirm that the feedback from working with Daft.ie is that there is a very significant increase on the number of U.K families looking to the Bantry area.  These prospective purchasers have been buoyed by a 6 month growth in their own property market.  Though the currency rate is not as attractive to U.K buyers as it has been in recent years, they feel that this is more than offset by the very significant drop in property prices here.

Furthermore there is a strong suspicion that the fall in value for these one off second hand homes may not be as alarming as other areas where there is still a vast amount of unused and un-sold properties.

Though there is more to change in West Cork values, there is genuine hope that the worst is behind us.  So, for more insight and choice in the Bantry, Beara and Sheeps Head Peninsulas visit www.harringtonestates.ie  because when the shout is “Land Ahoy”we will have told you in advance – now is a great time to try and buy!!

Friday 25th September 2009 marked the beginging of a new era for the tourisim industry of the South West region of Ireland, as the MV Julia made her maiden voyage into Cork Harbour. In March 2010 the new Fastnet Line Ferry MV Julia will operate the revived ferry link between the ports of Swansea and Cork.

Since the demise of the previous Swansea – Cork Ferry in 2006, tourism in the region began to suffer and with no state support in sight, a small lobby group got together and the West Cork Tourism Co-op was formed in early 2009. Meetings were held and investors sought to pledge financial contributions to assist in purchasing a new Ferry and by March 2009 €2.6 million had been raised. Other significant partnerships were formed and further contributions helped acheive the €3 million required to purchase a vessel for €7.8 million.

Harrington Estates are proud to announce that they are investors in conjunction with Glengarriff Tourist Association of the “bring back the Swansea Cork Ferry” campaign and like many others are delighted that this service will be making a welcome return in 2010 in what can only be a huge boost to the region.

Currently docked in Cork Harbour until March 2010 for fitting out, the ten deck, 154 metre long, 22,000 tonne, Julia has a capacity for 1,860 passengers, 440 cars, 30 trucks for hauliers, in excess of 300 cabins, numerous restaurants & bars and children’s play area. The MV Julia was built in 1982 and previously sailed between Helskini and St. Petersburg.

For up to-date information on the new Swansea – Cork Ferry link log onto
www.fastnetline.com or www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com

3. Denis Connolly & Mike Holland
Energy Ratings Ireland,
Coorycommade,
Coomhola, Bantry, West Cork
027-56614
087-7718973 (Denis)
E-mail: Holland_Connolly@eircom.net

4. Neil Cleminson
Beara Energy Rating,
Gurteen, Eyeries,
Beara, West Cork
027-74271
086-3198184
E-mail: bearaenergy@eircom.net

5. Willie Cody
IPAT Ltd.,
Fermoy,
Co-Cork
025-34636
086-8237639
E-mail: willie@ipat.ie
www.ipat.ie

6. Michael Kiernan BA/BAi MIEI
Carhoo Technical Services,
Carhue,
Clonakilty,
Co-Cork
023-21690
087-2320998
E-mail: info@rebelenergy.ie
www.rebelenergy.ie

7. Kevin Hurley
Breenymore,
Kealkill,
Bantry,
West Cork
027-66775
086-3072884
E-mail: kevinhurleyconstruction@hotmail.com

8. Kevin O’Driscoll
National Energy Assessors Cork,
The Old Forge,
Mardyke Street,
Skibbereen,
West cork
028-51591
086-8824598
Lo-call 1890 793 793
E-mail: kevin.odriscoll@nea.ie
www.nea.ie

9. Declan Christy
“Cosy Homes”,
Knockarudane,
Glandore,
West cork
087-7405204
E-mail: declanchristy@gmail.com
www.cosyhomes.ie

10. Ray Clancy
Clancy Engineering Services,
8 Ard Cross,
Crosshaven,
Co. Cork
087-2898056
E-mail: clancyeng@eircom.net

11. Tim O’Connor
O’Connor Engineering Services,
Chartered Engineers,
Kilgobbin,
Ballinadee,
Bandon,
Co. Cork
086-8355857
E-mail: tim@oconnorengineering.com
www.oconnorengineering.com

12. Cork BER Assessors
27 Wayside Drive,
Clonakilty,
Co. Cork
023-8836808
E-mail: yogiBER@corkBERassessors.ie
www.corkBERassessors.ie

13. Tony Dineen
BioPower Energy Savings,
48 Main Street,
Schull,
Co. Cork
0287 9107817
1890 226 226
E-mail: tdineen@biopowerplc.com
www.biopowerplc.com

As of 01st January 2009 every dwelling being offered for sale or rent has to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate by law.

This requires a BER Assessor calling to the property in question & examines all rooms, walls, doors, windows, chimneys, boilers, air vents etc to assess the energy efficiency of the house. At the end of the assessment a BER Certificate will be issued & a report will be provided to the homeowner outlining ways in which the energy efficiency can be improved in the home. The BER is expressed in the form of performance bands “A1” being the most energy efficient to “G3” being the least energy efficient. We have compiled a list of BER Assessors in this area.

Some Energy Tips For Your Home

Grants Available
(Greener Homes Scheme / Residential Renewable Energy Grants).
The Greener Homes Scheme Grant is currently available and provides assistance to homeowners who wish to purchase a renewable energy heating system for their existing home. The scheme is administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland and aims to increase the use of sustainable energy technologies within Irish homes.

The grants are available to householders who invest in renewable energy based heating systems under the categories listed below.

Visit www.sei.ie for up to-date information on grants available & grant payment procedures etc.

“Despite an uncertainty in the national building and banking forecasts, and accepting that property values are in transition, there has been a healthy number of sales to families relocating to the area. In our experience the main reason for these successful transactions is that by and large the purchasers were negotiating with highly motivated vendors.”

Denis goes on to say

“We believe that we live in the finest part of the country and by extension, the best place in the world. Potential buyers are motivated to come here at all times, so it stands to reason if they can be matched up with equally motivated sellers then it makes our professional duties a good deal more straightforward.”

Harrington Estates are forecasting 2 to 3 more years of transition however they are seeing very good opportunities arising for buyers and sellers alike. Having seen the market in the Bantry Bay area peak in the early half of 2006 there is a feeling that it may involve a five year cycle from that point in time to bring about a new balance and a return to steady growth, but unlikely to be as rapid as witnessed between 2002 and 2006.

So if you are thinking of buying continue to look at www.harringtonestates.ie and if you are seriously thinking of selling contact us and we will attempt to match your home up with a motivated purchaser.

What will happen to West Cork property in 2008 is the question on everybody’s lips (or at least on mine, anyway). It all looked very gloomy and doomy for most of the year, until, right at the end, the Minister for Finance Brian (“Biffo”) Cowen made a subtle but fairly revolutionary change in the stamp duty regime for houses in Ireland.

The changes are subtle enough in that there isn’t any huge change in the amount of money that will be “saved” following the new changes, which came into immediate effect.

But the revolutionary thing about these changes is that the basis for assessment has changed fundamentally from being a bit mad to being calm and logical. Let me expand further:

Under the old set-up, every time you entered a new band, the higher rate applied to the entire amount. This meant that it often became a crucial issue when the price being negotiated approached such a point and it often resulted in an aberration of pricing whereby the seller would fix the asking price a comfortable distance away from the cut-off point. For example, someone who might reasonably have asked 260,000€ for their property might have targeted €255,000 as their lowest acceptable figure. But this figure is just €500 above the cut-off point for the change in stamp duty (under the old system, that is). So, the buyer, would be angling towards an offer of 250,000, as there was quite a difference between paying 4% on 255,000 as opposed to paying just 3% on 250,000.

Now, however, all that has changed. The first 125,000 is not considered, and a flat rate of 7% applies thereafter. It sounds like it could mean an increase in some cases, but there is a saving in all cases. The only other band applies when the property goes over a million, but even then, the higher rate will only apply to the amount above the million and not to the entire consideration (as was the old way).

So, all in all, it is a great new departure. Simplifying the system makes it easier for all concerned. There’s also less tax for buyers to pay, which may free up the movement of property (people trading up, people trading down) in the market place. Time will tell what effect it will have on the national and the West Cork property market.

I just thought I’d explain a little bit better so that people may understand better the workings of the thing, because the feedback I get from many is that they don’t quite realise just how useful these maps are. I think, in fact, that some people are a little intimidated by them.

First of all, there’s nothing to be afraid of (just in case you are). The map shows you exactly where the property is, marked by a blue marker thingy. The map is completely interactive, so you can use it to view the whole world if you want and you’ve the choice to see it in satellite photo mode, map mode or as a sort-of animated-style relief mode, showing you representations of hills and so forth.

If you click on the blue thingy, a menu bubble pops up and offers you directions on how to get there. So you can do this, get driving directions from wherever you live and then you can print them off. It even gives you an estimate of how long it will take you to drive there.

So, there you are – don’t fear the map as it’s a handy tool for showing how to get to the West Cork property you’re interested in

The latest House Price Index, brought to us courtesy of Permanent TSB and the ESRI, confirms the stagnation that people in the West Cork property scene have been feeling in their bones for the last 9 months or so.

The latest figures run up to July of this year and show that the average house price in the Republic is currently at €301,267. This is a startingly accurate figure and what’s even more interesting is that it’s virtually the exact same figure as the average price from June 2006.

So, not much happening then? Well, as always, there is something happening to the market, which like all organic things, is never in a state of complete stagnation: At the moment, house prices are slipping ever so slowly. In fact, the rate of slippage has slowed slightly from 0.5% in June to 0.4% in July. Since the start of the year, house prices nationally have declined by 3%.

So, where to next for the housing market in Ireland? The answer is never straightforward, which is what makes the property market – and life in general – so interesting.

While property prices in West Cork have been on the slow decrease like everywhere else, the decreases have been concentrated in certain sectors: the new housing estate market, for example and the small townhouse/investor type of property. This is a reflection of two things: the overall lack of confidence in the marketplace and the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers on all 2nd-hand homes (which has made brand new houses for first-time buyers less of a unique attraction). Meanwhile, the 2nd-hand home sector isn’t feeling the pinch quite as much, if at all. Another catalyst in all of this has been the continuing rise of interest rates.

There hasn’t been an interest rate rise in a number of months now, and there a lot of indicators out there to suggest that there won’t be any more significant rises for a long time to come. Nobody in Europe wants them. Even France’s new president Nicolas Sarkozy has been publicly calling on his fellow countryman and ECB chairman J-Claude Trichet to stop it with the interest rate rises, for God’s sake.

The longer interest rates remain un-raised, the more confidence will creep back into the marketplace. One must remember that Ireland’s position is not unique and that virtually all markets across Europe are experiencing similar stagnation/decline. In Ireland, the level of house production has fallen sharply (scared speculators and even more scared bankers) from an estimate 90,000/year to about 60,000/year. With an economy that’s continuing to grow and its population along with it, this very fact could cause house prices to start crawling up the graph in another 9-12 months time. Watch this space…

Harringtons – Estate Agents Bantry, West Cork – 027 51553
Specialising in West Cork Property in Bantry, Glengarriff, Beara, Sheeps Head and surrounding areas

The latest House Price Index, brought to us courtesy of Permanent TSB and the ESRI, confirms the stagnation that people in the West Cork property scene have been feeling in their bones for the last 9 months or so.

The latest figures run up to July of this year and show that the average house price in the Republic is currently at €301,267. This is a startingly accurate figure and what’s even more interesting is that it’s virtually the exact same figure as the average price from June 2006.

So, not much happening then? Well, as always, there is something happening to the market, which like all organic things, is never in a state of complete stagnation: At the moment, house prices are slipping ever so slowly. In fact, the rate of slippage has slowed slightly from 0.5% in June to 0.4% in July. Since the start of the year, house prices nationally have declined by 3%.

So, where to next for the housing market in Ireland? The answer is never straightforward, which is what makes the property market – and life in general – so interesting.

While property prices in West Cork have been on the slow decrease like everywhere else, the decreases have been concentrated in certain sectors: the new housing estate market, for example and the small townhouse/investor type of property. This is a reflection of two things: the overall lack of confidence in the marketplace and the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers on all 2nd-hand homes (which has made brand new houses for first-time buyers less of a unique attraction). Meanwhile, the 2nd-hand home sector isn’t feeling the pinch quite as much, if at all. Another catalyst in all of this has been the continuing rise of interest rates.

There hasn’t been an interest rate rise in a number of months now, and there a lot of indicators out there to suggest that there won’t be any more significant rises for a long time to come. Nobody in Europe wants them. Even France’s new president Nicolas Sarkozy has been publicly calling on his fellow countryman and ECB chairman J-Claude Trichet to stop it with the interest rate rises, for God’s sake.

The longer interest rates remain un-raised, the more confidence will creep back into the marketplace. One must remember that Ireland’s position is not unique and that virtually all markets across Europe are experiencing similar stagnation/decline. In Ireland, the level of house production has fallen sharply (scared speculators and even more scared bankers) from an estimate 90,000/year to about 60,000/year. With an economy that’s continuing to grow and its population along with it, this very fact could cause house prices to start crawling up the graph in another 9-12 months time. Watch this space…

Harringtons – Estate Agents Bantry, West Cork – 027 51553
Specialising in West Cork Property in Bantry, Glengarriff, Beara, Sheeps Head and surrounding areas

Just as the pioneers began to head West in their stagecoaches in search of peace, prosperity and security, so many people from further East are doing the same thing in West Cork, as they seek out the Sheep’s Head Peninsula and the Beara Peninsula in search of peace & quiet and securing a property.

Very often, one of the first staging posts is Bantry itself. Every day in our office, the door swings open (I think it might be an idea to install a saloon door for the busy months) and the latest prospect swaggers in, looking for some information and assistance to help him/ her in his quest. Most times, it’s peaceful with nothing much to get excited about. But there come times when all hell can break loose: One guy looks at another guy the wrong way, they’re both after the same house, and… before you know it, one of them pulls out a powerful offer before the other guy can get his hands on his own piece. Other times, there’s a great big shoot-em-up, with offers flying in from all directions. But when the dust settles, there’s always only one man left standing. He calmly takes the keys, gets on his trusty steed and moseys off into the sunset until he finds the back road that leads to his dream home.

Harringtons – Estate Agents Bantry – 027 51553
Specialising in West Cork Property in Bantry, Glengarriff, Beara, Sheeps Head and surrounding areas