The ‘Room to Improve’ homes that sold for up to five times their original purchase price

Owners of homes featured on RTÉ’s Room to Improve have seen the value of their property increase five-fold when the houses sold in later years.

Analysis of figures on the Property Price Register of five homes renovated by architect Dermot Bannon on the hit property show and later sold, show that two properties bought for about €300,000, secured a final price tag of over €1.5m and more than €1.7m.

All properties saw their sale value improve beyond the declared cost of the renovation during the course of the programme.

While three of the five homes are in Dublin, homes in Co Louth and Waterford also feature.

Kilternan, Co Dublin

What started out as a dilapidated 19th-century former schoolhouse in Dublin 18, the rundown property was transformed in season eight of Room to Improve into a modern family home.

During the episode, the home was found to have rotten floors, damp and the original classroom, which had gone virtually untouched.

It took more than 12 months to complete the project. A two-storey extension with atrium was added to the property, with a walk-in wardrobe, balcony and geothermal heating system all part of the finished result.

When the episode aired in 2015, the total spent on renovating the home was €450,000.

A protected structure, the property was originally purchased in 2013 for €300,000 and was sold 10 years later in 2023 for €1,540,000.

Tramore, Co Waterford

Perched on a cliff overlooking Tramore Bay, this cottage started out as a three-bedroom, one-bathroom family home.

The property appeared on season 12 of Room to Improve, when the layout was described as cramped and dark, and the stunning views difficult to find when inside.

But after 15 months, the house was turned from a modest bungalow into a breathtaking home that harnessed that second-to-none view.

The back of the home became an open-plan space with dining room, kitchen and living room that was flooded with light.

The master bedroom with ensuite was also designed to harness views of the bay.

Despite going to site with a contract value of €305,000, the project came in at €290,000.

Revealed on the show to have been initially bought for €305,000, it was sold in an off-market sale last year for €1.7m.

Blackrock, Co Dublin

“There’s a lot of damp, both rising and coming from the roof. There’s leaks everywhere, the floorboards aren’t in good condition…,” Dermot Bannon said in his first assessment of this property in Dublin.

Mushrooms growing inside indicated the extent of the dampness in the home in Blackrock, which featured in season five of the RTÉ property show.

In an exclusive part of the county, the home was in serious need of renovation. Even the bathroom was the “mankiest” Bannon had seen. Mushrooms seemed to be growing there too.

It took just 18 weeks to fully renovate the property, which looked unrecognisable once it was finished.

What started out as a property with just four rooms was turned into a modern two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, with just the original front wall remaining.

The final cost of the project was €202,500.

The owners initially bought the home in 2011 for €310,000 and it was sold in 2015 for €890,000.

Drogheda, Co Louth

Bought as a project, this 1930s semi-detached home in Drogheda, Co Louth, had plenty of character, despite being run down.

Described by Bannon as a “half conservation, half renovation” job, the property had plenty of original features, such as bay windows and unique fireplaces.

The renovation took 23 weeks to complete in series nine of the show. With a new extension to the back, the open-plan space featured a somewhat controversial “concrete wall”, a vision of the architect’s.

Despite apprehension from the owner, the feature made its way into the final plan and was referred to as the “Marmite wall”.

Overall, the house renovation came in at €190,000.

The home was originally bought for €295,000.00 in 2015 and was sold in 2020 for €575,000.

Brittas, Co Dublin

Former minister Katherine Zappone featured on Room to Improve in 2013 with her late wife, Ann Louise Gilligan.

Their home was built in the early 20th century for a London hotelier as a hunting lodge.

The wooden home was dark, cold and in need of help. The couple said little work had been done on the property for three years. However, a builder had not worked on the home in about four decades.

While there were a lot of rooms that didn’t work “functionally”, there were others – like the upstairs bedroom – that didn’t meet planning regulations.

The house was transformed into a home full of light and surrounded by nature, with a double-height space created for the kitchen and dining room.

The total spend for the renovation came in slightly over budget at €166,000.

The couple purchased the property for 57,000 Irish punts (about €72,000) and it was sold in 2022 for €725,000.

Drumcondra, Co Dublin – Dermot Bannon’s home

In 2018, Dermot Bannon put his red brick terraced house in Drumcondra up for sale with an asking price of €649,000.

The 1920s home had an open-plan kitchen and plenty of original features like high ceilings, solid wood flooring and cast-iron fireplaces.

As Mr Bannon bought the property prior to 2010 when the Property Price register began, the original purchase price is not recorded on the register. The property sold in August that year for €680,000.

2018 was a big year for the architect and his family, who also bought their own renovation project for €895,000, also in Drumcondra.

Bannon wasn’t shy when it came to featuring his latest property project on Room to Improve, which was the focus of two episodes that aired in 2020 .

Viewers saw Bannon spend €600,000 renovating the home, which included a two-storey wrap-around extension and an outdoor bath.

The ‘outdoor bathroom’ at the end of the garden came under scrutiny from Dublin City Council, when Bannon failed to seek planning permission for the structure. Mr Bannon was later granted planning retention by the council.

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