The introduction of the Property Price Register (propertypriceregister.ie), not to mention further online resources and archives, have provided a great starting point for exploring the fortunes of a house.
Now as Dublin prices gradually begin to emerge from the doldrums, it can sometimes be like watching a soap opera (or a morality tale, it’s hard to say for sure) in action. Number 25 Nutley Avenue is a case in point.
From the façade this is a relatively unprepossessing property. Perhaps it's the pebbledash, though the area – just off Nutley Lane at the Merrion Road end – is a very popular one. Just down the road from RTÉ, it's close to the Merrion Centre, St Vincent's Hospital and Ballsbridge.
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The house is detached and, from the front, you can see it has been extended, plus the veluxes in the roof tell you something’s going on up top. Once inside, however, all those property clichés come rushing to the tongue.
To say it’s “deceptively spacious” would be a serious understatement – it is all of 347sq m (3,735sq ft). Immediately you’re in a double-height foyer, with a glass balcony above, and light, yes, actually does come flooding in.
All mod-cons
The ground floor has an au pair or staff flat to the side, and three large reception rooms as well as a massive all-mod-cons kitchen that runs down to an enormously bright, glassed in breakfast room overlooking the garden, which itself backs on to the playing fields of St Michael's College.
Sherry FitzGerald sold this house at auction in 2006 for €3.3 million, from an initial guide price of €2.5 million; and then the new owners added all the boomtime bells and whistles, including two additional bedrooms.
There’s now an Aga in the kitchen, underfloor heating throughout, sandstone and slate fireplaces, and the kind of bathrooms you usually have to check into a designer hotel to enjoy.
There’s a large master bedroom suite, including a dressing room and bathroom, and then, as if that wasn’t enough, on the top floor, there’s another one, which has a wonderful picture window overlooking the sports grounds.
Then the house came back on the market in 2010, with Gunne’s, guiding at €2.95 million. If you Google it, you can see the YouTube video that was made to promote the sale at the time. Not much has changed since, except all the furniture has gone, but if you want a huge house, convenient to practically everything, this could be the one.
It’s stylish too, with lots of wood, sandstone and a cream colour palette. The garden is a good size, and there’s a very nice patio, plus gated off-street parking to the front.
The big question is, after all its ups and downs, is it good value? Joint agents Lisney and Kelly Walsh are auctioning it in late March, with an AMV of €1.8 million.
Compare this to the €1.665 million that No 55 made in October last year, and the €1.04 million that its near neighbour No 50 made in March 2013, and you can see it’s reflecting the steady upward trend in the area.
