Carlow market

Jed and Dave

Hi I am thinking of selling my small starter home in Dublin and moving out of Dublin to somewhere on the train between Dublin (where I work) and Kilkenny where the GF is from as I am travelling in between alot.The prices in kildare train towns seem to have gone up alot so I was looking at Carlow as it seems to be a big enough town under an hour on the train to Dublin that has come on leaps and bounds since I was in college there 15 years ago. I was hoping that this next move would be my last so was hoping to buy a 4 bed detached house within a stonesthrow from the town.
Before I start bidding(probably after christmas) Im looking for some local knowledge of Carlow town and what the market is like there at present? Is there much demand and are houses going for under/over the asking.Thanks

handlemaster

Crazy to want to commute so far. Have you costed not only time but the finances of this move ? Why not rent your house in dublin and rent in carlow for a year see how it goes.

Jed and Dave

Hi Thanks
yeah I have, it will be a bit more expensive to commute but Im driving between Dublin and Kilkenny alot anway at weekends to see herself so it wont cost as much as if it was just one commute vs another. Honestly dont want the hassle of being a landlord or multiple moves.

Eldarion

Wow this is a scary post. What happens if your circumstances change? You're not married, ye could break up for some reason. What if you have to change jobs? What if she also gets a job in Dublin?

Your current commute situation could change drastically in as short a timespan as a year. A mortgage is going to be for 30+.

Jed and Dave

thanks for the heads up, my job situation will not change nor will hers most likely, Im buying on my own so I m not worried about splitting up etc. Im well aware theres no gurantees in life,
, however with long distance relationships you have to make some effort to bridge the distance. Ive done the commute and its a bit longer allright but Ive considered all this and made my mind up. Can anyone help with my query?

Meathlass

Jed and Dave wrote: »

Can anyone help with my query?

A look at daft etc will give you an idea of prices and the property price register will show the final selling price.

The houses around the IT are popular but there's always going to be issues with noise and parking so close to the IT. For an extra 20 mins on the train you could actually live in Kilkenny which is a much nicer spot.

Jed and Dave

thanks meathlass i know around the it there like that part of town, kilkenny is lovely but 20/30 minutes on top is just a bit too much and besides the houses are very dear!
Was looking at a 4 bed detached house(cant post the link) sell at allsop auction yesterday for 110k! only 10 k over reserve but most of the 4 bed detached houses are guiding around the 200k mark dont know what to make of that.

Uriel.

OP, I am not being smart with you, but I would really think you should reconsider your plans on this.

I agree that with a long-distance relationship (in fact, all relationships) compromise is required. Perhaps that compromise is to move closer to your other half, but it doesn't need to require you purchasing a house.

I know you say you don't want the hassle of multiple moves etc. but my advice (and this is from hard earned experience), is to rent in Carlow first and see how things go. It's a huge lifestyle change, it takes many months, if not longer to really understand the impact a move like that has on your life - in terms of commuting, opportunities (lost and gained), how you settle long-term in a new place, your relationship and much more besides.

The fact that you own a place in Dublin means you don't need to be in as much as a hurry with regard to the (purchase) market, (i.e. if house prices climb in Carlow in the next 12 - 24 months, you would expect a similar (if not greater) rise in Dublin (generally).

The consequences of committing to a long-term investment, and something going wrong or some unforeseen circumstance arising, are quite large and can be difficult to work out of.

Genuinely, I really think you should consider renting in the first instance, and if things work out great, then make a more long-term commitment.

Jed and Dave

Uriel,
Appreciate the sentiment and im not being smart with you either, but I have considered all this. Does everyone rent when they move to a new location? I dont want to rent.

Uriel.

Jed and Dave wrote: »

Uriel,
Appreciate the sentiment and im not being smart with you either, but I have considered all this. Does everyone rent when they move to a new location? I dont want to rent.

It's your decision to make, and I am only offering advice.

Does everyone rent when they move to a new location?

I wish I had listened to advice on here and "offline" at the time and rented instead of purchasing... in not too dissimilar a circumstance to yours.

The Spider

Jed and Dave wrote: »

thanks meathlass i know around the it there like that part of town, kilkenny is lovely but 20/30 minutes on top is just a bit too much and besides the houses are very dear!
Was looking at a 4 bed detached house(cant post the link) sell at allsop auction yesterday for 110k! only 10 k over reserve but most of the 4 bed detached houses are guiding around the 200k mark dont know what to make of that.

Don't listen to them, make the move, we moved down to Gorey over two years ago and haven't looked back, I work in Dublin every day it's very doable. A lot of people around here get the fear about this kind of thing, but seriously Carlow isn't very far at all, look at the map of ireland and you'll see that from Waterford to Dublin is a tiny proportion of the Island.

I would agree though that if you are going to do it, to consider Kilkenny, instead of Carlow, it's a much better spot to socialise in and is generally way nicer. Carlow's always been a bit of a midpoint, saying that there are some great villages in and around Carlow.

drumswan

The Spider wrote: »

Don't listen to them, make the move, we moved down to Gorey over two years ago and haven't looked back, I work in Dublin every day it's very doable. A lot of people around here get the fear about this kind of thing, but seriously Carlow isn't very far at all, look at the map of ireland and you'll see that from Waterford to Dublin is a tiny proportion of the Island.

I would agree though that if you are going to do it, to consider Kilkenny, instead of Carlow, it's a much better spot to socialise in and is generally way nicer. Carlow's always been a bit of a midpoint, saying that there are some great villages in and around Carlow.

Youre having a laugh. Its an hour on the train, youve to get to the station and get to work from the station. You are talking about at least three hours commuting a day. Thats insane for anyone who places any value on their time.

The Spider

drumswan wrote: »

Youre having a laugh. Its an hour on the train, youve to get to the station and get to work from the station. You are talking about at least three hours commuting a day. Thats insane for anyone who places any value on their time.

Depends on where you work, like I said I'm doing it every day and it took me longer to cross the city than it takes me to drive to Gorey, granted petrol costs are higher, but then I've got a huge detached house behind private gates on 2 acres, I still have all the advantages of Dublin if I want to come up on the weekend its 45-50 minutes drive.

drumswan

The Spider wrote: »

Depends on where you work, like I said I'm doing it every day and it took me longer to cross the city than it takes me to drive to Gorey, granted petrol costs are higher, but then I've got a huge detached house behind private gates on 2 acres, I still have all the advantages of Dublin if I want to come up on the weekend its 45-50 minutes drive.

Thats not comparable to what the OP is talking about then is it?

And you dont have all the advantages of Dublin if you live in Gorey, come off it.

The Spider

drumswan wrote: »

Thats not comparable to what the OP is talking about then is it?

And you dont have all the advantages of Dublin if you live in Gorey, come off it.

Ha yes I do, such as the small advantages of Dublin are, lets see the advantages of

Dublin: Shopping, fair enough, but Like I say only up the road and the M11'll be finished soon making it closer again.

Pubs: Have those in Gorey, don't get out much these days anyway, that's family life.

Restauraunts: have those in Gorey too.

Airport: Easily reachable

Theatres: Have one of those, again Don't get out to it much.

Cinema: have one of those

Decent Beaches: way more of those than Dublin

GAA: Goes without saying there's plenty of that


And the big advantage is that it's all on my doorstep less than a minutes drive, if I lived in Blanchardstown I'd be travelling a lot further to enjoy the same things.

And if I really want a night out in Dublin, it's not exactly a problem to stay up, as I'll be doing next week.

What I don't have is the kind of social problems you get in Dublin, not saying there's no problems in Gorey, but they're miniscule compared to Dublin.

As to the OP, they haven't said where they work in Dublin if it's the city centre, then hopping on the luas at Heuston isn't exactly the end of the world.

Jed and Dave

drumswan wrote: »

Youre having a laugh. Its an hour on the train, youve to get to the station and get to work from the station. You are talking about at least three hours commuting a day. Thats insane for anyone who places any value on their time.

haha listen i value my time too- I do the guts of 2 hours every day getting stressed stuck in a traffic jam living in dublin, would rather spend the time reading the paper relaing and walking in that 3 hrs.

my job is about 15 minutes walk from heuston btw.

lads all i seem to be getting is alot of patronising comments asking me have i considered this etc., I dont want to get into a "are you sure you want to" coversation or the merits of living in Dublin vs the Country - I had a a very specific query when i started the thread.
Thanks ;-)

drumswan

:rolleyes:

None of the Gorey versions of these are in any way comparable to whats in Dublin. If you wanted to go to a show in the Grand Canal Theater for example you would have to spend over two hours driving and you cant even have a glass of wine. Its like saying living in Dublin is the same as living in London because you can fly there and stay over if you want to have a drink. Nonsense.

I dont understand why people spoof themselves about this stuff. If you want to live in Gorey live in it, but dont pretend to yourself that its the same as someone who can walk ten minutes to work or to a top end restaurant in an evening. Theres a reason prices in Dublin are high.

The Spider

Not too familiar with it but as it's a similar distance as Gorey, I'd say it's pretty similar, so I'd expect some wiggle room depending on location. That said things are definitley picking up here, as people move further out of Dublin so I'd assume a similar situation in Carlow, as you've said Kildare has seen significant rises, so I'd expect Carlow to be next in line.

Jed and Dave

Suffering mother of jesus----THIS! ---

drumswan wrote: »

:rolleyes:

If you want to live in Gorey live in it......

Im sure the same sentiment applies to Carlow aswell?? :-D Thanks Drumswan.




Thanks Spider Id say so allright.

The Spider

drumswan wrote: »

:rolleyes:

None of the Gorey versions of these are in any way comparable to whats in Dublin. If you wanted to go to a show in the Grand Canal Theater for example you would have to spend over two hours driving and you cant even have a glass of wine. Its like saying living in Dublin is the same as living in London because you can fly there and stay over if you want to have a drink. Nonsense.

I dont understand why people spoof themselves about this stuff. If you want to live in Gorey live in it, but dont pretend to yourself that its the same as someone who can walk ten minutes to work or to a top end restaurant in an evening. Theres a reason prices in Dublin are high.

Ah you're funny it's gas seriously I'm not exactly a theatre type, I'll go if there's something excellent on and more than likely London rather than Dublin.

Now as to your other point there's not too many people in Dublin who can walk ten minutes to work. Plenty of decent restaurants outside of Dublin.

Like I said married, kids, don't get out that much these days, but when I do it's more than likely for a few pints, and to be honest I don't need to be in Dublin for that.

drumswan

The Spider wrote: »

Ah you're funny it's gas seriously I'm not exactly a theatre type, I'll go if there's something excellent on and more than likely London rather than Dublin.

Now as to your other point there's not too many people in Dublin who can walk ten minutes to work. Plenty of decent restaurants outside of Dublin.

Like I said married, kids, don't get out that much these days, but when I do it's more than likely for a few pints, and to be honest I don't to be in Dublin for that.

Fine. You dont have all the advantages of Dublin though regardless of what youve convinced yourself of, and neither will the OP when he moves to Carlow. There is very little going in in Carlow town.

The Spider

drumswan wrote: »

Fine. You dont have all the advantages of Dublin though regardless of what youve convinced yourself of, and neither will the OP when he moves to Carlow. There is very little going in in Carlow town.

Or the disadvantages, and there are very very many my friend.

MarkAnthony

I was (very briefly and half drunk) looking at doing this. Honestly I wouldn't consider it unless I was driving but there are some gorgeous property available in the Carlow direction towards Kildare. Going for reasonable amounts but it'll fall like a rock if(when) house prices drop again.

I don't know much about the market that far out, some areas of Kildare are showing some silly prices IMHO. My advice is to ring an estate agent or two, ask about properties and ask if there are any offers in.

The Spider

I think the OP is comfortable with the commute, and you'd have to be as for prices dropping, don't see it happening unless there's a sudden huge supply of property in Dublin, not likely for the forseeable future. As I've said earlier anyone looking towards ownership is going to be increasingly looking towards commuter towns, some will struggle and get angry about this and preach house price drops in Dublin, or some new supply miracle, but the wise ones have already seen what's coming and have bought the best property in commutable distance to Dublin, ie Kildare.

However the advice about ringing estate agents is warrented as is checking the property price register to get an idea on prices achieved in the area.

http://www.myhome.ie/priceregister?RegionID=1080&LocalityIDs=&MinYear=2010&MaxYear=2014&Keywords=

Emme

Jed and Dave wrote: »

Hi I am thinking of selling my small starter home in Dublin and moving out of Dublin to somewhere on the train between Dublin (where I work) and Kilkenny where the GF is from as I am travelling in between alot.The prices in kildare train towns seem to have gone up alot so I was looking at Carlow as it seems to be a big enough town under an hour on the train to Dublin that has come on leaps and bounds since I was in college there 15 years ago. I was hoping that this next move would be my last so was hoping to buy a 4 bed detached house within a stonesthrow from the town.
Before I start bidding(probably after christmas) Im looking for some local knowledge of Carlow town and what the market is like there at present? Is there much demand and are houses going for under/over the asking.Thanks

The train journey to Carlow is more like an hour and ten minutes - I do that commute. The trains aren't all that frequent and delays are frequent. Expect to spend a lot of time sitting between Athy and Kildare stations going nowhere and getting into Heuston 10 or 15 minutes later than expected. House prices in towns between Kildare and Dublin will go up more than those south of Kildare because the train service after Kildare is abysmal. Stations between Athy and Waterford (including Carlow) are served by the Waterford line only.

Carlow is a good midpoint between Dublin and Kilkenny and property there is cheaper than Newbridge or Kildare town. However Carlow isn't a patch on Dublin as regards amenities. I would advise you to rent there first before you buy. It might be wise to rent a place with your girlfriend to see how you adjust to living together and all the exhaustion that goes with a long train commute to work. You would want to be very sure of your relationship before you consider buying. If prices in Dublin fall prices outside Dublin will more than likely fall as well even though they are low at the moment. If prices in the country rise it will be because prices and rents in Dublin have become even more unaffordable. You have a house in Dublin so you will not lose out by waiting a year or two before buying in Carlow.

In a nutshell: rent out your house in Dublin for a year and rent a house in Carlow. You will rent a house in Carlow for less money than you will be getting for your house in Dublin. Put the surplus rent money from Dublin towards your travel costs to Dublin (train tickets are not cheap). If you have anything left over you can save it and put it towards your new house.

Mr. teddywinkles

This is from personal experience from doing it for over 10 years Carlow to Dublin. Its doable but traffic is getting a lot worse even in the last year. The naas road has accidents daily. It usually takes me an hour and half from tallaght to get home if i leave at 6. Hour and 15 leaving at 8. If I had ur option and I was happy living in Dublin I'd stay put😊 but ur not me. Its pretty exhausting and infuriating

Mr. teddywinkles

The Spider wrote: »

Ha yes I do, such as the small advantages of Dublin are, lets see the advantages of

Dublin: Shopping, fair enough, but Like I say only up the road and the M11'll be finished soon making it closer again.

Pubs: Have those in Gorey, don't get out much these days anyway, that's family life.

Restauraunts: have those in Gorey too.

Airport: Easily reachable

Theatres: Have one of those, again Don't get out to it much.

Cinema: have one of those

Decent Beaches: way more of those than Dublin

GAA: Goes without saying there's plenty of that


And the big advantage is that it's all on my doorstep less than a minutes drive, if I lived in Blanchardstown I'd be travelling a lot further to enjoy the same things.

And if I really want a night out in Dublin, it's not exactly a problem to stay up, as I'll be doing next week.

What I don't have is the kind of social problems you get in Dublin, not saying there's no problems in Gorey, but they're miniscule compared to Dublin.

As to the OP, they haven't said where they work in Dublin if it's the city centre, then hopping on the luas at Heuston isn't exactly the end of the world.

Jeez the way you describe it. You just roll outa bed into work. Is gorey not in Wexford. Is that not further than Carlow. So luas tickets and train tickets. And a walk from the luas. How long would that take. How early in the morning would you have to be up.

The Spider

Mr. teddywinkles wrote: »

Jeez the way you describe it. You just roll outa bed into work. Is gorey not in Wexford. Is that not further than Carlow. So luas tickets and train tickets. And a walk from the luas. How long would that take. How early in the morning would you have to be up.

Work in SCD and drive, so yeah I do roll out of bed into work ( Sorta, more like roll out of bed into the car). I don't have extremely strict work hours, more about meeting targets, than being present at the desk, saying that I'm always connected to work, and never 'off'.

I drive up door to door, really depending on what time I leave inbetween 50 - 80 minutes.

Funnily enough if I leave at 8.30 I can be in work for the same time as leaving at 8.00, between 9.10 and 9.25

MouseTail

There are theatres, cultural facilities and restaurants in both Gorey and Carlow. There is life beyond the pale.