LAST SEEN on the market for €4 million in 2008, the Lake House on 6 Claremont Road in Howth, Co Dublin, is now on the market with an AMV of €700,000 – over 82 per cent less.

Given the location beside Burrow beach, is this guide price a tactical crowd puller? Darren Chambers from Lisney who is auctioning the property on May 4th, says the price reflects the current climate. “We are offering it for sale by auction to let the market be the deciding factor.”

The secluded, overgrown setting and the stillness of the water give the Lake House a slightly eerie atmosphere. A new owner – unless it’s Stephen King – will undoubtedly give it a new lease of life. The lake – which is home to eels and mullet – is at the front of the five-bedroom house, on 0.8 of an acre, and with direct access to Burrow beach.

Now being sold in an executor sale, it was built 28 years ago on leafy Claremont Road – which runs parallel to the Howth Road – beside what had been the family home for years. The dated design of the 1980s bungalow doesn’t take full advantage of the spectacular views, so a new owner is likely to redevelop.

Up to the 1950s, the lake was known as Higgy’s Pond, after FW Higginsbottom, founder member of Howth Motor Yacht club .

The Lake House is 173sq m (1,862sq ft) and has two reception rooms and a kitchen/livingroom. As well as the lake, the grounds include gardens with old rose bushes and mature trees lining a gravelled driveway.

The kitchen/livingroom has three windows overlooking the lake as well as a glass door giving similar views. The sittingroom has lake and garden views and the sunroom doubles as a storage area and main entrance.

Two of the bedrooms, off a long corridor, have nice lake views and one is en suite.