Howth house sells for €5m – the highest price paid for northside property in 2015

Carnalea, a modern home on Thormanby Road, Howth, has sold for €5 million, catapulting it into the top five Dublin sales of 2015. The quiet off-market sale certainly achieved the highest price for a residential property north of the Liffey this year.

The property, formerly known as Rosbeg, was purchased in 1998 for €1.06 million (£840,000) by a couple from Ballsbridge.

It was subsequently resold in 2003 to the most recent owners, a couple involved in property development, who demolished the original house in 2005 to replace it with a larger modern home. The 488sq m (5,250sq ft) house, just three doors down from Riverdance maestros Moya Doherty and John McColgan, has a vast southwesterly garden, sloping down towards the sea, with uninterrupted views across Dublin Bay. The price – negotiated through Conor Gallagher of Gallagher Quigley auctioneers – sets a new record for Dublin's northside, being the highest price achieved for a house in north Dublin since 2010. The previous record was held by Roseneath, Church Road, Malahide, which Hostelworld millionaire Ray Nolan bought for €3.4 million last year.

Prime properties in the Howth Hill area rarely change hands and one neighbouring house, Long Acres, on about three acres, was one of the year’s quickest high-end sales when it sold for €2.55 million just weeks after hitting the open market.

Three years ago, Windward on Howth’s ultra-exclusive Ceanchor Road, sold for just €1.8 million. The single-storey residence occupies one of the most impressive sites in the area, on about 2.5 acres of headland with dramatic panoramic views.

The price achieved for Carnalea will come as a pleasant surprise to neighbours in Howth, where dozens of houses occupy equally large and valuable sites, and it may encourage others to sell.

The sale is the third highest in all of Dublin this year so far. 2015 has been a bumper year for coastal properties, with two other coastal properties, Sorrento House in Dalkey (€10 million) and Strathmore in Killiney (€7.5 million), taking the top two spots.