Foreign buyers driving boom in prime country property market, Savills say

• Published date: 25 April 2024
• Author: Ian Curran
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

Transactions totalling €190.6 million were conducted last year for country homes – properties outside the main cities and the M50 corridor – each valued at more than €1 million. The figure was slightly below but broadly in line with that of 2022, itself a bumper year for transactions

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James Butler, head of country agency at Savills Ireland, said the majority of buyers at this end of the market are cash purchasers, many of them living abroad. Some are Irish and hoping to return to the Republic after working in another country for a time while others are foreign buyers looking to put down roots here, he said.

The county with the most transactions at this end of the market was Kildare, at 27. Cork – a perennial favourite among buyers, Mr Butler said, particularly around Kinsale – was second with 24, followed by Co Meath with 19 sales and Co Wicklow with three.

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One of the largest single transactions in 2023 was the €4.5 million sale of Sprayfield House, Sandycove, near Kinsale in July to US billionaire James Berwind.

At least half of the transactions are to...