It's a sign of the current strength of the market that owners of expensive Dublin houses no longer wait until the spring and early summer to put them up for sale. Time was when estate agents used to spend the winter months talking themselves hoarse trying to persuade owners that there was no need to wait until after Easter. But their persuasive words were usually wasted, and Dublin had two main selling seasons - April-June, and September-October.

Now, it's virtually a year-round business, and Sherry FitzGerald has no hesitation in launching a five-bedroom house at 5 Greenfield Crescent, in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, with a guide price of £700,000-plus. It goes to auction on February 17th.

It's a large detached house with a lovely back garden. But it's the location in the leafy Greenfield enclave opposite RTE which will drive up the price - Greenfield Crescent is a cul-de-sac off a cul-de-sac, making for great peace and privacy. And this house is located on the best side of the crescent, with its garden backing on to the parkland of UCD.

Built in the early 1960s, it has belonged to the current owners for around 30 years. They extended the drawingroom and the main bedroom directly above it - the extensions help to make both these rooms reach out into the back garden. They also added an en suite bathroom, with a bath, to the main bedroom.

With around 2,500 sq ft of accommodation, it is an airy, roomy house, beginning in the large, square-shaped hall with its open-railed staircase. Downstairs accommodation comprises the drawingroom, a family room with a fireplace and built-in bookshelves, and a diningroom. The large kitchen-breakfastroom has a white Aga.

Off the kitchen, there is a roomy utility room with a red-tiled floor, and beyond that a pantry with simple shelving. The utility room connects with the garage. There is a downstairs lavatory.

When the house was built, the smallest bedroom was shown on the architect's plans as the "maid's room" - a reminder of the social changes that have come about since the 1960s. As well as the large main bedroom, there are two other double bedrooms and a single room, used as a study. The well-kept back garden is one of the glories of the house. There are good herbaceous borders along two sides of the walled garden, a bed of old roses in another corner, and a magnificent magnolia tree set into the paved patio.

To the front of the house, there is drive-in parking for several cars.