Bargains at an Allsops Space property auction in Dublin yesterday were largely in rural locations with Dublin prices looking very high by comparison.

In the commercial property section the return to the market of small groups of private investors was plainly visible, but investors were being choosy about where and what they bought. Even so, 131 properties sold for a total of €38.5million.

In the residential section some of the best value appeared to be outside Dublin with a large detached house of 269sq m (3,000sq ft) overlooking Lough Galboile near Bailieborough, Co Cavan, selling for €90,000.

Elsewhere in Co Cavan six commercial units and five apartments in a new-build corner unit in Blacklion sold for €80,000.

The difference in prices between these and Dublin homes was underlined in the price of €300,000 achieved for a three-bedroom, 118sq m home in Weston Way, Lucan. It was also evident in the figure of €375,000 paid for a 63sq m, two-bedroom house at Milltown in Dublin 6.

The auction also featured licensed premises and hotels, some of which were picked up for less than bidders were paying for semi-detached homes in Dublin.

The Park House Hotel in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford – a familiar sight just off the N4 Dublin to Sligo route – was offered for sale with a seven-day licence and 22 bedrooms. It achieved €150,000.

In Banagher, Co Offaly, the Brosna Lodge, a recently refurbished, 14-bedroom hotel with a bar, two restaurants and a four-bedroom house, sold for €250,000. A feature of the auction was a telephone bidding section with offers over €1 million coming in over the phone from a number of parties interested in two premises in Mallow, Co Cork, occupied by Advance Pitstop and An Post.

The twin units were sold to a telephone bidder for €1.55 million.