Ailesbury Road five-bed for £3.5m

One of the largest semi-detached houses on Ailesbury Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 comes to the market this week, with an asking price of £3.5 million (€4.44m). Coolbawn is a Victorian five-bedroom house with a self-contained ground floor that could be converted into an apartment or offices.

Surprisingly, Sherry FitzGerald has opted to sell the house by private treaty rather than by auction, a move that underlines the slowdown in the residential market since last autumn. Cash-rich builders, professionals, and foreign embassies are likely to be among those viewing the house which has 4,800 sq ft - more than four times the size of the average Dublin semi.

There has been a steady turnover of large houses on Ailesbury Road in recent years, with prices moving ever upwards. Ballsbridge continues to attract wealthy buyers who prefer to live close to the city, rather than commute in heavy traffic to the outer suburbs.

Coolbawn was last offered for sale in 1992, with an asking price of £700,000 (€889,000). Dating from 1879, it was built by Michael Meade, who was also responsible for St Michael's School across the road. It is a very imposing house with a grand entrance portico, a marble hallway and fine reception rooms.

There is a large front garden, plenty of off-street parking and a detached garage. The back garden is smaller than one might expect with a property of this size. Inside, the house has been decorated in recent years but is likely to be given a fresh makeover by new owners. While the reception rooms are attractive with their polished timber floors and tall sash windows, the hall-level kitchen needs updating.

The kitchen leads into a conservatory at the back of the house with steps leading down to a ground floor sittingroom that is separate from the rest of that floor. A wide staircase leads past a landing window with views over neighbouring gardens. A guest toilet is situated here.

Upstairs there are five double bedrooms, including the main bedroom with its en suite bathroom. A second bedroom has an en suite shower room and there is also a large nicely-fitted family bathroom.

The entire ground floor, once a doctor's consulting rooms, has not been touched, and could be converted to a superb apartment or office - subject to the necessary planning permission.