A Dublin housebuilder yesterday paid £9,750,000 (€12,379,946) at auction for a period house (above) on 16.5 acres of development land at Oscar Traynor Road near Santry in Dublin 17.

Bidding at the auction opened at £5 million and the property, Larch Hill, was declared on the market at £8 million by auctioneer Robert Ganly of Ganly Walters. Two bidders chased the property until it was finally knocked down to Niall Langan who is currently building houses in Blessington, Co Wicklow. The planners have zoned 13.2 acres for a residential development and according to architects McCrossan O'Rourke, the site could accommodate up to 250 houses. Hamilton Osborne King was joint selling agent.

Larch Hill is located between Dublin Airport and Northside Shopping Centre. The local authority has reserved about three acres of the land for a linear park along the Santry river which forms a boundary. It is a rambling period house, part of it dating from the 1800s. It has outstanding gardens.