House hunters stayed in their cars overnight at Cork development site to be first in line for new homes

THE desire to secure a home was evident in Cork on Saturday morning as 19 house hunters parked their cars overnight on the site of a Cork housing development, eager to be the first in line to put a deposit down on a new home.

19 cars soon became 30 cars as gates officially opened at 7.30am at the site on Waterfall Road where construction only began at the end of June.

A total of 275 units comprising 136 houses, 99 apartments, and 40 duplexes will be constructed on the site, which was acquired earlier this year by Developer Bridgewater Homes for €10.2 million.

Phase one of the development, which was launched on Saturday morning, saw a total of 42 homes purchased after a total of 66 prospective buyers checked in on-site over the day in the hopes of securing a home.

Three main house types were launched in phase one of the development, including three-bedroom mid-terraced homes, four-bedroom end-of-terraced homes which are split over three floors and three-bedroom semi-detached homes.

With an overall project value of €123.6m, this significant investment marks a milestone in the development of one of the largest residential projects in recent times for Cork.

Sales agent Shane Finn of DNG Creedon said they were not expecting people to be sleeping overnight in their cars and that had to think on their feet and provide refreshments.

He said that despite people laying their heads down in their cars overnight, spirits were high and that there was “a real sense of excitement on site”.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Finn said: “You can clearly see the demand for housing and to be fair to the government they very much so brought schemes forward to get people out of rented accommodation.

“There are two schemes for these houses that are evident today and I would say a lot of our purchasers will be using them. 

"The Help to Buy which means that a purchaser can get 10% of the value of the house to a maximum of €30,000 as long as they’re working in Ireland for five years and then you also have the First Home Scheme which allows you to get a maximum of 20% from the purchase price so if a bank gives you so much and you’re short 15%, for example, this scheme will bridge the gap up to a maximum of 20%.

If somebody buys a house from us today at €400,000 which sounds like a lot of money, but when you bring it back into mortgage terms and back to what it’s going to cost every month it’s actually not that expensive, and it’s actually cheaper than renting.

Mr Finn said that government incentives are in place to allow people to get on the ladder and advised people who may be afraid to engage the conversation with the bank or a mortgage broker to do so.

“When you engage the conversation and you understand what you need to do, after about six or 12 months you’ll get your ducks in a row and be in a position where you can be here like those this morning,” he said.

Concerns Raised About Housing Climate

Many buyers on site on Saturday morning said that the location of the development was a big draw for them as it is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the main South Ring and Bandon Road, but only 1.9km from Bishopstown, 6.4km from the city centre and 7.9km from Ballincollig.

However, there were concerns raised about the current housing climate and the “fight” involved in finding and securing a home.

One couple, who wished to remain anonymous, described the competition as “ridiculous”.

“The competition nowadays with housing is ridiculous. I do find it ridiculous that you have to fight for someone to allow you to give them half a million euro. We’re queuing to give them money and not an insignificant amount of money.

“There’s no model house but people are queuing already. 

"We’re just looking at the soil and grass,” they said.

Another couple, who travelled from Clonakilty where they are currently renting, described it as “a race for a spot” in the queue for the homes and said they stayed all night in their car.

Another purchaser welcomed the system of attending in-person to secure a home and said it gives purchasers a fair chance.

I think this is the first I have seen of them doing this on site. I think they should start doing this more and it’s a fair chance for all and whoever first comes will get it. Hard work will pay off and not just luck.

Mr Finn said the overall build programme for the development is about 36 months, with houses purchased on Saturday morning expected to be ready within 12 months.

Speaking about the potential release of another phase later this year, he said: “It’s likely that another phase will be released this year but that is unknown yet.”