€7.5m drop tells the story of the bubble

SANDYMOUNT €1.95M: A trophy home on Park Avenue, bought for €9

SANDYMOUNT €1.95M:A trophy home on Park Avenue, bought for €9.5 million at the height of the boom, is back for sale at €1.95 million

A SANDYMOUNT house that sold at the height of the property boom for €9.5 million is back on the market at €1.95 million.

The semi-detached Edwardian redbrick on swish Park Avenue is being sold by Caroline Brooks, daughter of financier Derek Quinlan, who with her husband Matthew purchased the house at auction in 2006 – paying nearly twice the €5 million guide price.

The then sellers, accountant John Carney and his wife, scooped a tax-free windfall with the sale of the home they bought in 1974 for £37,500 (€53,695). The stratospheric rise and fall in value over a relatively short period is one of the best examples of the property bubble that has triggered the economic downfall.

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The house was previously owned by Bank of Ireland, which had used it as a guest house for employees visiting head office.

The bank had extended the house considerably to just over 300sq m (3,276 sq ft).

Not much has changed inside since 2006, although the rooms have been repainted.

The Brooks had intended to completely remodel the Edwardian redbrick, which stands on just under half an acre of grounds and has a 76m (250ft) back garden. The couple had previously sold a house on Palmerston Road in Dublin 6 for €7 million having refurbished it from top to bottom.

Number 70 Park Avenue is now for sale through Foxrock agent Daphne Kaye who says that she is already close to agreeing a sale at just over the asking price.

Meanwhile, Lisney is close to agreeing terms on another Quinlan property, number 43 Ailesbury Road. The Victorian three-story semi is being sold together with a mews house. The current offer is thought to be around €2.5 million.

70 Park Avenue, Sandymount

Trophy home for €1.95 million

AgentDaphne Kaye

Orna Mulcahy

Orna Mulcahy

Orna Mulcahy, a former Irish Times journalist, was Home & Design, Magazine and property editor, among other roles