A new record has been set for a former local authority house in fashionable Dalkey, Co Dublin with the sale of 49 St Begnet's Villas for close to €800,000.

Selling agent Felicity Fox put the three-bedroom semi on the market three weeks ago seeking offers over €600,000; similar houses in the area have sold at this level in the last 12 months.

However, there was so much interest in the 77sq m (820 sq ft) house, that she decided to sell it by tender, asking interested parties for sealed bids. Three tenders were submitted with the winning offer "in the high €700,000s" according to Fox. Stamp duty at 9 per cent pushes the price well over €800,000 for the new owners, who will have room to extend into to the side garden.

Built as council housing in the 1940s, the St Begnet's estate of around 100 houses is increasingly attractive to affluent couples keen to be close to the area's schools and facilities like the adjoining Cuala sports grounds.