MALAHIDE: €2.8M:MALAHIDE'S JAUNTY mix of sailing, golf, good restaurants and resort-style boutiques has long made it a destination for the upwardly mobile. The downturn has hit the wealthy suburb, with values falling in its outlying estates that are closer to Swords than Malahide.
However, properties close to the village have been less affected, says local estate agent Paula Costello of O’Farrell Cleere, who adds that the agency has completed three €2 million-plus sales in the exclusive Abington estate since Christmas.
“We’re in the lucky position that we are still selling at the upper end,” says Costello. “Prices have come down, but then there are people who see that they can buy these big houses at 30 per cent less than last year.”
She’s hoping that buyers will see the value in a modern detached four-bedroom house on Grove Road, which is priced at €2.8 million – “about a million” less than it might have made at the peak of the market.
The 1970s house has been given a thorough makeover by owners who have now made the unusual decision to move closer to the city centre, hence the sale.
It’s got around 186sq m (2,000sq ft) of living space, which is cosy by Malahide standards where large executive homes are frequently in the 464-743sq m (5,000 to 8,000sq ft) bracket. Called Woodlawn, it’s located about 100 yards from the Coast Road, within easy reach of the village. A large extension to the house provides its nicest room – a big open-plan living space, with a high beamed ceiling and a wall of folding doors opening onto the garden.
There’s a dining area with its own bar, with counter and stools, and a separate formal diningroom, both of which are close to the open-plan kitchen with its pendant ships lights and expensive units topped in granite. A separate livingroom completes the ground floor.
Upstairs the main bedroom has great wardrobe space and a large en suite with Jacuzzi bath. There’s also access to a balcony that overlooks the front garden.
There’s a manageable west-facing back garden, designed for low maintenance and with much of it given over to a large patio.
Woodlawn, Grove Road, Malahide, Co Dublin
Spacious four-bedroom house near the village with a stylish makeover
Agent: O'Farrell Cleere
