在爱尔兰出现房地产热潮的大背景下，威克洛郡基尔库尔的海滩上“矗立”的一所面积仅为200平方英尺（18.6平方米）、不通电且卫生间根本就没有下水道的普通小屋竟然在市场上开出了高达12万欧元（82250英镑）的价格。

    路透社1月20日报道，爱尔兰哈塞特拍卖公司的工作人员罗伊森·奥格雷迪负责将这套房子拿到市场上进行拍卖，他说：“这类房子并不是拍卖场的常客，因此它刚一露面便引起了大家的浓厚兴趣。”

    这座被煞有介事地命名为“海神小屋”的木质结构住宅距爱尔兰首都都柏林约40公里。从都柏林通往罗斯莱尔的铁路刚好从屋子后方经过，所以入住此屋的人将难以享受到宁静安逸的气氛。奥格雷迪还介绍说，“海神小屋”的房顶是由毛毡制成的，其内部烹饪和供暖则使用罐装煤气，另外屋外设有一个简易卫生间。

    报道说，爱尔兰是目前欧元区内经济发展速度最快的国家之一，而这种繁荣景象也带动了该国的房地产市场。在1997年到2004年间，爱尔兰房价猛涨了3倍。去年9月，位于都柏林市内的一套曾经被用来充当工具作坊的小房子竟以22万欧元的高价被某位投资者迅速抢购。

    It's about the size of a garden shed, has no electricity and a toilet with no sewage outlet.

    But such is Ireland's property boom that the grandly named Neptune Cottage in county Wicklow has been put on the market for 120,000 euros (82,250 pounds) -- all 200 square foot (18.6 sq metres) of it.

    "They don't come up that often, which is why it's generating so much interest," said Roisin O'Grady, an assistant at auctioneers Hassett (www.hassett.ie) who put the property on the market.

    The tiny timber-framed hut would not be tranquil -- it backs on to the Dublin-Rosslare rail line -- but does face the beach at Kilcoole, Wicklow, about 25 miles (40 km) outside Dublin.

    It measures 15 feet 6 inches by 12 feet 8 inches (4.7 by 3.9 metres) and is divided into two little rooms, one with a kitchen and a bed while the "living room" sleeps three, on a sofa and a divan bed, O'Grady said.

    The property has a felt roof, uses bottled gas for cooking and heating and only has an outside chemical toilet.

    Ireland has one of the fastest growing economies in the euro area and the boom has fuelled a surge in construction. The cost of homes tripled between 1997 and 2004.

    Last September, a former tool shed built to fill a gap in the middle of a row of Victorian houses in what was once Dublin's poorest district got snapped up for 220,000 euros.