IT WAS once the most expensive house placed on the property market in Limerick, but yesterday it sold for €10 million less than its original asking price.
The palatial Winterwood, built for property developer Robert Butler, had a price tag of €12 million in 2008. Yesterday a sale for about €1.9 million was agreed on the 16,500sq ft mansion.
In a sign of boom extravagance, the three-storey house has an atrium hallway lit by the largest privately commissioned Waterford Crystal chandelier.
The property, which has never been lived in, is one of 19 homes built on the grounds of Adare Manor, owned by US millionaire businessman Tom Kane. It boasts landscape gardens over 2.8 acres.
The property’s portfolio describes Winterwood as “a stunning property in an enclave of exceptional homes in an amenity-rich private setting.
“Winterwood lets you become part of an exclusive community offering a lifestyle of casual elegance, simple pleasures and world-class amenities. Your home’s landscaped gardens will blend with the estate’s 840 acres of stunning parkland and woodland, giving you a real sense of belonging to something peaceful and unique.”.
Along with eight bedrooms, it includes five reception rooms, eight bathrooms, a sauna, jacuzzi, library, gym, drawing rooms and membership of Adare Golf Club.
The property once attracted a €10 million bid, but the sale failed to go through, leading to the price tag being slashed over the past three years. Last November, another luxury multimillion euro home on the same grounds sold for less than €2 million, considerably less than an earlier asking price of €3.25 million.
Winterwood and its 18 neighbouring properties border the famous golf club that is home to the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am golfing tournament.
The identity of the buyer remained unknown yesterday.