Wicklow property focus: a portrait of the garden county

On Dublin’s doorstep, Co Wicklow offers the prospective home owner many advantages

The lure of Wicklow: autumn scene by the Vartry river. Photograph:  Nick Bradshaw
The lure of Wicklow: autumn scene by the Vartry river. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Wicklow, also known as the Garden of Ireland, sits on Dublin city’s doorstep and offers a slower pace of life and opportunities to buy for those priced out of the capital.

Wicklow is a county offering commuter connectivity to its eastern seaboard and lakelands region, which contrast greatly with the rural idylls of its mountainous inner terrain.

It is also the second most expensive county to buy a property in after Dublin, based on CSO figures which listed the average house price nationally for 2016 at €240,947 with the average in Dublin being €392,233. Co Wicklow came in second with an average price of €312,621.

The CSO figures for 2017 show that house prices in 2017 were up nearly 11 per cent in the year to February. In the Mid East, which includes Co Wicklow, the figure for the same sort of housing stock was slightly higher at 9.3 per cent.

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Greystones is the most expensive place to live in the county, with four of the five highest prices of 2016 achieved here, according to MyHome.ie data. Ellerslie on Vincent Road sold for €1.36 million; Nirvana on Burnaby Road, €1.357million; Blairfine on South Place, €1.335 million; and The Cedars on South Place, €1.233 million.

“It’s a place where residents want to spend their weekends but there has been such massive development in the town that purchasers looking for a slice of village life already find it too big,” says Catherine O’Reilly of SherryFitzGerald, based in Wicklow town.

Beyond Greystones

She says the best value is to be found in Rathnew or Wicklow town. “Houses in Kirvin Hill, a new scheme of A-rated, three-bed homes are selling from €275,000. Comparable schemes in Greystones cost between €395,000 and €420,000. That 10-15 minute journey down the N11 will buy you a lot more house.”

But stock remains an issue. Nationally MyHome.ie puts sales conducted in 2016 at 46,834, down 4.1 per cent from 48,837 in 2015. In that same period, there were 1,358 sales in Co Wicklow, down 3.4 per cent from 1,406 sales in 2015. While the number of properties sold may have decreased, the value of those sales was up 3.1 per cent in 2016, to €420.3 million from €407.8 million in 2015.

Wicklow County Council hopes to address the housing shortage and has stock growth targets for towns along the N11 commuting corridor of some 21,000 new homes from 2011 to 2028, according to Sorcha Walsh, senior planner with the council. Bray is earmarked for 5,378 new homes, Wicklow town and Rathnew together have been allocated another 4,739, Arklow 4,256 and Greystones 3,501. The other towns targeted are Newtown; Ashford; Enniskerry; Kilcoole; Kilmacanogue and Newcastle (see sidebar).

The target for the same towns for the period 2011-2022 is 10,729, Walsh explains but “estimates that only 1,500 new units were built in the entire county between 2011 and 2015, so the achievement of most of this 10,000 will be required between now and 2022 if we are to meet our target”.

The lure of Wicklow: autumn sunshine and warm hues from the garden county by the Vartry river. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
The lure of Wicklow: autumn sunshine and warm hues from the garden county by the Vartry river. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

New homes activity seems centred in Wicklow town and Greystones with very little development in Arklow, a town with similar coastal amenities. Why? “The lack of adequate wastewater treatment facilities in Arklow considerably stymied the ability of the council to permit significant new development in the last 10 years,” Walsh says.

Arklow proximity

In Arklow, €160,000 will get you a first home, says Dolores Somers of DNG Somers Properties. “There is stock of the live-above-the-shop and in-need-of-modernisation variety – and for those not afraid of a project they can get a three-bed semi for under €210,000. There’s no difficulty accessing schools and there’s a bus to Dublin every hour and train service four times a day.”

The villages of Laragh, Glendalough and Annamoe have long been favourites with high-profile figures. Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis lives the quiet life outside Annamoe while actor Jonathan Rhys Myers has just spent the last eight months in Ashford living at Hunter’s Lodge, which is now for sale.

Ashford should not be overlooked, O'Reilly says. "While rural, the airport is only an hour away and investment in the very large Ashford film studio, home to the hit series Vikings, is now such that it can accommodate blockbuster-style series like Game of Thrones."

Still a village it also has Mount Usher Gardens and Avoca Handweavers. It is another location earmarked for development with 842 homes planned.

While there is price growth in Roundwood in large houses, there are no plans for large-scale development, O’Reilly adds: “A good thing too as it doesn’t have the services to sustain it.”

The recent announcement that the Green Luas line will be extended at some future point to Bray will turn the town into a major transport hub, says John Doyle of HJ Byrne & Co. “Here there is huge demand for homes within the €250,000-€450,000 price bracket. We sold 37 in the last 12 months but could have sold double that.”

Bray and north Wicklow

Having sold 10 properties in the €870,000-€1 million-plus price range, Doyle feels there is more price sensitivity in Bray and north Wicklow at the higher end. Robin’s Return, a new build A3-rated four-bed detached house, completed last year, went on to the market the first week in March at €850,000. Last week HJ Byrne & Co reduced its price by €50,000.

Doyle expects most new development in the area to be in Old Conna and the lands to its south, which are all in different ownerships.

The lure of Wicklow: boats by the Avoca river in  Arklow. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
The lure of Wicklow: boats by the Avoca river in Arklow. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Builders the Cosgrave Group have interests here, and are awaiting a planning decision on 650 units, of which 460 are expected to be residential.

An oft-forgotten part of the county is west Wicklow, says Patsy Nugent of Blessington-based Nugent Auctioneers. “We don’t have the sea but the town is set on the shores of the region’s lakes with a greenway and boardwalk to Palladian mansion Russborough House. The town has a regular Dublin Bus service to Dublin city centre via Tallaght, and it is only six miles from Naas and the last Red Luas line stop at Saggart is about 10 miles.”

FACT FILE: Wicklow housing statistics

Wicklow County Council’s housing stock growth target for towns along the N11 between 2011 and 2028 is 21,614, in the following areas:

Bray 5,378
Wicklow – Rathnew 4,739
Arklow 4,256
Greystones 3,501
Newtown 1,456     
Ashford   842
Enniskerry   414
Kilcoole   710
Kilmacanogue    124
Newcastle   194

Source: Wicklow County Council

Only 1,500 new units were built in the entire county between 2011 and 2015. 
Average house price 2016 (source CSO): €312,621

Population 

The current population of the county is 142,425. Fifty four per cent of the population is under 40 (76,866). The population target for 2022 is 158,000, an increase of 10 per cent, and 176,000 for 2028, an increase of 20 per cent.

Figures supplied by Wicklow County Council via Eastern and the Midland Regional Assembly (emra.ie)