Lisney expects bids in excess of £4 million (€5.08m) for Grove House, a large Crampton-built property on just over three acres at Hainault Road, Foxrock, Dublin 18 which goes to auction on October 17th.

The rambling nine-bedroom house is likely to be demolished to make way for a scheme of apartments or houses.

Most large properties sold in Foxrock over the last decade have been developed for housing - in most cases, small enclaves of big traditional-style homes priced at £500,000-plus (€634,869).

Grove House has almost 500 ft of frontage on to Hainualt Road and so will be seen as particuarly suitable for development.

The grounds back onto a property of similar size on Brighton Road. Although that property is not for sale, its situation will be noted by developers prepared to take a long-term view.

Grove House is the largest property to to come on the market in Foxrock for some time. In 1999, Hollybrook, a three-acre property on Brighton Road was sold at auction for a record £8.3 million (€10.54m). Planning permission was recently granted to knock down the house and build a scheme of around 40 apartments.

However, Lisney director Tom Day is quick to point out that the market for development land has changed since the boom times of 1999, hence the far more modest guide price for Grove House.

While this is a prime residential site, only the most successful housebuilders are likely to pitch for it because of the reluctance of lending institutions to fund these purchases where planning permission could take years to come through.

The Government's insistence that 20 per cent of any development should be made available for social and affordable housing has dampened interest in development sites, particularly in areas where a hint of social housing would make it difficult for builders to get top prices.

Grove House is a long three-storey structure with most of the garden to the rear. Because of its situation at the front of the site, the house may be preserved and renovated, either as a single large dwelling or as a terrace of townhouses or apartments.

Built by Crampton in the early 20th century, and added to substantially in the last 20 years, the house has almost 5,000 sq ft of living space that includes several large reception rooms and a wing containing the kitchen, family room and store rooms. Both the drawingroom and diningroom overlook the back garden, while the principal bedrooms on the first floor have access to sun-trap verandahs.

There are two staircases and a lift to the upper floor. A self-contained flat at this level is extremely spacious with three bedrooms, sittingroom, diningroom and kitchen. The original part of the house has an attic floor with bedrooms and an enormous playroom with a trapdoor leading down to a verandah below.

The grounds are mostly in lawn and woodland. Several mature trees on the boundaries of the property have been listed for preservation.