Who wants to be a millionaire?

NOT all houses at the upper end of the market found new owners during 2002, with market sentiment behind vendor’s expectations.

The once-magical 1 million price barrier was lowered by the advent of the new currency, which also provided price transparency with some of our European neighbours, for comparative purposes.

But just at it might have got easier for houses to clear the one million hurdle, a lot of Ireland's new-found millionaires found their stock market wealth had taken a bath and the barrier proved elusive for many hopeful vendors.

Dublin saw steady auction sales as fewer homes went this sales route than in the heady late 1990s of auction withdrawals.

Limerick saw several 1 million homes hit the market and the classical Georgian villa Beechlawn (Sherry FitzGerald O'Malley) sold for well over 2 million, while Whitfield Court in Waterford, which had been on the market for €4.5 million (with HOK Country), sold discretely with few details made public.

Cork had a flood of million-plus houses put up for sale, and local footballer Roy Keane stormed home from Saipan to view a few, such as Carrig Cottage, on offer for over €2.2 million with Lisney.

Roy also cast an eye over one of the city's best homes with gardens the size of a soccer pitch beside the River Lee in the posh Sunday's Well not officially on the market, but buyable for a fistful of millions.

However, only a few of these high-priced €1 million-plus homes were actually sold by year's end.

Following five years of the Celtic Tiger, the quality of new and contemporary homes has ensured a stock of new classics for years to come.

Monopoly money is still available for the right home in the right address. Witness the €9 million or so paid for a D4 Shrewsbury Road (one of the top Monopoly board game addresses) Victorian home called Clancool (Lisney), bought by a scion of the Doyle Hotels' family dynasty.

Up to a dozen Dublin homes sold for over €3 million this year past: one was a newly built lodge on Nutley Road for €4.5 million (Lisney); another was on Dalkey's Coliemore Road (Sherry FitzGerald) with private harbour, also fetching around €4.5 million. Dalkey, Foxrock, D4 and D6, as well as Clontarf on the northside made some of the best prices.

Country living options close to Dublin also sold strongly: the sale of the Victorian Glenmore House in Clonee, Meath near Dunboyne, made €4.1 million on 120 acres.

Strong sales in Cork included Millboro (Cohalan Downing) on large gardens on Orchard Road which made just over 1 million, while another 10-year old house in a newish estate the Grove off this address made €540,000 with Lisney.

Holderness on the Rochestown Road made over €760,000 with Casey Kingston, while Sherry FitzGerald made over 800,000 for Woodridge on the Rochestown road and over €900,000 for Clooney, a Douglas village house sold for its redevelopment value.

Woodwards got around €660,000 for a Douglas Road house the Coppins, and had two Blackrock Road homes in need of upgrading, making about €500,000 each.

Charlemont, a period home in Rochstown, made over 1 million through CB Hamilton Osborne King, who also disposed of the Church of Ireland Rectory in Douglas for over €800,000 and an adjoining site for one house, there for a further €420,000, to total over €1.2 million for the property.

Through HOK several properties made just under the million mark: an Edwardian house in Ardfoyle, Ballintemple sold for €670,000; a Lindville house re-sale on the main Blackrock Road made around €720,000; a Court Cairn home in the western suburbs fetched just under €800,000; a detached house on the Clash Road near Ballincollig sold for around €800,000.

Despite that flurry of strong sales, estate agents expect the supply of large, quality, second hand houses to remain at a relatively low level in 2003.