Top buys: End of 2016 saw flurry of €1m-plus house sales

The final weeks of 2016 may have brought little in terms of new properties coming to market, but sales of €1 million-plus homes continued to close in the background.

At the beginning of December, the then-Twitter managing director Mark Little announced that he was stepping down from his role. This coincided with a property move too. Lohengrin on Torca Road in Dalkey was purchased for €1.2 million two weeks prior to Little's resignation announcement and plans have been lodged for major changes to the house, including knocking the front and pulling down the roof to give it a sleek new appearance, complete with walls of glass to exploit the home's elevated views. The house was for sale with a €1.3 million asking price.

What may likely be the top sale of December was Ros na Greine at 14 Avoca Avenue, which was purchased by DCC chief Tommy Breen, one of Ireland's highest paid executives, and his wife for €4.355 million. The sale closed quite quickly – the house having only hit the market three months prior – a testament to the desirability of the lovely Victorian house on about half an acre of grounds.

The Breens have ambitious plans, and intend to extend the house to 597sq m, to accommodate new open-plan living areas downstairs and a master bedroom suite upstairs, along with generally improving the well-preserved house throughout. The sellers, a legal professional couple, were understood to have also owned Cavrean, a mid-century home across the street that sold in recent months for €1.925 million. They retain a 0.58 acre site nearby on Glenart Avenue, on which they were granted planning permission for four substantial detached homes by An Bord Pleanála in 2015.

Just moments away, word has it that developer Richard Barrett has bought Glensavage on Avoca Road, the former home of businessman and The Irish Times wine critic Tom "TP" Whelehan, who passed away in 2016. The house, which stands on a substantial site, appeared in the property price register as having sold for €3 million in December. The full price paid for the entire site may have been higher, and it is understood that the buyer intends to apply for planning permission for a luxury residential scheme.