Foreign buyers are driving an increase in demand for high-end country homes in the Republic, property agent Savills has said, amid another busy year for the market in 2023 after a boom in 2022.
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.
Scope for budget tax cuts and cash for households is limited - this will be a difficult pre-election package to agree onOne of the largest single transactions in 2023 was the €4.5m sale of Sprayfield House, Sandycove, near Kinsale in July to US billionaire James Berwind.