News reaches us that number 25, the eternal bridesmaid of Ailesbury Road has finally found a buyer. While other houses on this stretch came and went through boom and bust, the former Hungarian embassy with the awful extension stood unloved for years. Now the 4,596sq ft property, part of a distressed portfolio owned by Lonestar, has sold through Hunters for €3.1 million. What a difference four months makes – Lisney had failed to sell it at auction for €3 million in March. Hunters spent about €10,000 on a mini-facelift to improve its “curbside appeal”. It appears to have worked.

The new owners are understood to be an Irish family purchasing for a family member, and it’s estimated they’ll spend €1 million to complete the refurb.

Meanwhile, numbers 1 and 3 Shrewsbury Road have hit the rental market. The adjoining properties, once bought by Derek Quinlan for €26 million and sold by Nama for €5.5 million to a Middle East-based investor in early 2013, have undergone an extensive €3 million renovation. Now they’re asking €15,000 a month (that’s about €500 a night, folks). Hunters is handling the letting, and Number 3 has already found a corporate tenant, while we understand that number 1 had been let but it fell through when the corporate opted for Number 9, Ailesbury Road an even larger refurbished property, also asking €15,000 a month.