LOW housing supply in West Cork is pushing prices out of the reach of many local buyers right now.

This lack of stock, combined with a growing number of people wishing to relocate here, means houses in the €300,000 to €500,000 range are regularly going over offer.

Henry O’Leary, estate agent, had a house for sale recently in Kilbrittain which was over offer by €10,000 after a single day.

A property in a rural part of Schull on the market with James Lyons O’Keeffe also jumped from €335,000 to €350,000 in a few days.

Majella Galvin of Bandon’s Galvin DNG said the slowdown in construction and a reluctance of people to sell during the pandemic has led to the supply problems. And a lot of what is coming to the market is being snapped up by those outside the area.

‘We recently sold three detached houses in a development in Gallanes, for between €405,000 and €530,000, to buyers from Meath, Limerick and Dublin.’

Henry said the market was very competitive right now, with the supply issue dictating value.

Losing out are those who can’t afford to rent or buy, he said.

Con O’Neill of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill agrees and he said more houses need to be constructed here.

‘People aren’t leaving West Cork, and for every family that moves here, we need to build a new house. The majority of estates in our towns and villages were built in the Celtic Tiger and may not change hands for another 40 years. We simply have to build more houses.’

Not surprisingly, the higher end of the market remains strong and Henry sold three properties virtually since Covid, to buyers in London, South Africa and the US.

‘People coming into the country have money, so for them it’s about the location and the seaviews. And they’ve the budget to fix any finer details,’ he added.