Dublin, Ireland has seen the full cycle of the real estate market. The market witnessed insane heights when it was backed by cheap credit and property in Dublin actually became more expensive than even New York, London and Paris. The recession literally knocked the bottom out of the Dublin real estate market. Still it was shocking to see a property listed at a price which was over 70% lower than its peak achieved in 2005. The property in question is the seven bedroom Edwardian red-brick house on Shrewsbury Road in Dublin.
The Tudor style 4,000 square feet house is called the Waldorf was expected to go for €35 million but ended up fetching €58million in the auction. At the time it had set a new record for the world’s most expensive home on a per square foot basis. The location Shrewsbury Road is a pleasant, tree-lined avenue in the middle of embassy-belt Dublin. At the height of the real estate boom it was ranked as the sixth most expensive street in the world, ahead of Beverly Hills’ North Carolwood Drive and St Moritz’s ritzy Via Suvretta.
The house today lies bare in a dilapidated condition. The buyers at the 2005 auction had invested so much in the property because they saw development potential in it. They were the heady days when every scrap of land was talked about in terms of its development potential. The developers proposed to build nine houses to the rear of the residence, with underground parking for each property but could get approval for only two. The sale of Walford is an admission of defeat for the owner who stands to loose €43 million after holding on to the property for six years. It will be interesting to see if buyers are interested in the property even at the low price because the house needs complete refurbishment.
Via: guardian
