A house in Howth, Co Dublin, belonging to missing solicitor Michael Lynn sold at auction yesterday afternoon for €4.9 million.
Glenlion House was purchased by an anonymous buyer who was represented by a solicitor at the auction.
The proceeds of the sale of the house are to be divided up by the High Court.
The three-bedroom house was purchased by Mr Lynn and his wife in 2006 for about €5.5 million.
Its sale for €4.9 million represents a drop in value of about 10 per cent.
This is broadly in line with the findings of a house price survey released this week, which indicated that house prices in Dublin fell by on average 10 per cent last year.
The house, which stands on a site of 4.75 acres close to the Baily lighthouse, was auctioned on the instructions of receiver Rory O'Ferrall who was acting on behalf of the High Court.
Selling agent Lisney reported good interest in the house in the run-up to the auction, saying about 40 people had inspected the house.
In the end just two parties battled it out yesterday afternoon for the house in a packed auction room, where more than one-third of those in attendance were from the media.
Lisney had set an AMV (advised minimum value) of €4.5 million for the property and bidding opened at €3.5 million. Two parties acting in trust for buyers fought it out with bids going up in €100,000-€250,000 increments until the hammer came down at €4.9 million.
The buyer kept in phone contact with solicitor Joe Sweeney of O'Donnell Sweeney throughout the auction.
Mr Sweeney would not be drawn on the identity of the purchaser but confirmed that the buyer was from Dublin and that the house would be used as a private residence.
The receiver said he was "happy" with the result. Noting that the market was "softer" than this time last year, he said the house "sold for enough" and the price "represented where the market is at".
How the money would be divided up would be a matter for the court, he said. The disposal of the money would "take a while", he added.
As the first auction of 2008, the sale of Glenlion House was closely watched by other auctioneers.
Tom Day of Lisney who conducted the auction said the sale would be "good for the market". He added that the auction took place particularly early in the year with auctions usually only starting midway through February.
"It indicates that there is a reasonable market out there. The buyer is very pleased and the vendor is very pleased."