Builders shell out for landed houses

This year saw high prices achieved for large residential properties with development potential. In June, Lisney fetched a record price of £8.3 million for Hollybrook House, on Brighton Road, in Foxrock. The six-bedroom Victorian house, set on three acres, was owned by a sister of the late hotelier, PV Doyle. The new owners, Millbrink Ltd, promptly lodged a planning application to demolish the house and build 44 apartments. Permission for this scheme has been turned down by the local authority.

In the same month, Ganly Walters and Hamilton Osborne King sold Larch Hill, a villa-style home on 16 acres, on Oscar Traynor Road, in Santry, for £9.7 million. It was owned by former Bank of Ireland governor, Mark Hely-Hutchinson. The land was zoned for housing and could accommodate up to 250 homes. However, Niall Langan, of Margrove developers, has applied for planning permission for 330 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, maisonettes and duplex units. He also plans to convert the listed house into four apartments and to build a gate lodge at the entrance.

Another property that hit the headlines because of its development potential was Casino, an 18th-century listed thatched cottage in Malahide. Set on 6.8 acres, it fetched £12 million through Hamilton Osborne King. It was sold to the Howth property developer Gerry Gannon.

Last month, developer Sean McKeon, of MKN Properties, paid £4 million for Auburn, on Howth Road, at a Lisney auction. The five-bedroom house on two acres was owned by Mary Guiney, who along with her late husband, Denis, of Clerys department store, had lived there for over 60 years. MKN Properties is expected to demolish the house for an apartment and housing scheme. A trophy site in the Ballsbridge area also hit the headlines. The Chester Beatty Library, on Shrewsbury Road, was sold for £7.2 million, also last month. The one-acre site was bought by O'Malley Construction, which is likely to seek permission for a block of luxury apartments.