Developers behind dramatic price rises

In 2004, the top price paid for a house was €9 million. This year, it was €58 million.Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor, reports

DUBLIN'S top addresses got a lot more expensive in 2005, as developers and investors vied with wealthy househunters to acquire prime properties with potential.

Last year, the most expensive house sold in Dublin made around €9 million. This year the top price was the staggering €58 million paid for Walford, a detached house on 1.8 acres on Shrewsbury Road.

Up to seven bidders vied for the house which had been in the Duggan family for over 50 years. With the sale due to close this month, the identity of the new owner remains secret, though the purchase is being seen as a long-term property play.

At €36 million, Barrington Tower, a 1950s house built onto a 19th century tower on Brennanstown Road, Dublin 18, set a new record for Foxrock when it was sold by Lisney. The bidders were all developers chasing its 8.3 acres of land which could accommodate a large scale apartment and housing development.

The same agent sold three neighbouring houses on Brighton Road, Foxrock for €22 million - over €7 million per house - with the total site of 3.75 acres likely to be developed with three or four large houses to the acre.

Back on Shrewsbury Road, Lisney is thought to have fetched close to €30 million for Belmont, a fine seven-bedroom house on 0.75 of an acre without development potential.

Close by, a modern detached house at 28 Shrewsbury Road was one of the bargains of the year. It was sold for €7.5 million through Sherry FitzGerald to resident Niall O'Farrell who plans to replace it with two large houses.

Santa Maria on Cunningham Road in Dalkey is also destined for housing. The big Victorian house on two acres, which was once owned by the Jacobs family, was bought by southside developer Wesley Curran for €9.735 million through Colliers Jackson-Stops. The same agency fetched €6.2 million under the hammer for Glenbrook in Enniskerry, a large period house in the village, standing on two acres of prime development land.

Dunluce on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, a modern house on an acre of land, was snapped up by developer Michael Bailey for €6.2 million through joint auctioneers Harper O'Grady and Norths. The entire site is likely to be developed.

Some of the year's top houses were bought purely for investment by individuals who have built up big residential portfolios.

Milverton, a large detached house on Herbert Park in Dublin 4, was bought for over €8 million by a buyer who already has property in Dublin 4 and 6 while 27 Ailesbury Road, a typical Victorian redbrick that had been refurbished by veteran investor Peter White, was bought for €9 million through McNally Handy by a family which already has a large portfolio in the neighbourhood.