Crowds gather to have a look around on the first day of the opening sale the Millers Glen development near Applewood in Swords.Photocall Ireland

Suddenly the Irish property market is booming again.

The Irish Times property section has bulked up remarkably in recent weeks, not yet quite on the steroids it was during the Celtic Tiger but not too far away.

Its lead story on Thursday was a Victorian redbrick house bought for $2 million in 2013 is back on the market following renovation at $4 million.

Inside an article on flipping houses reveals that the rising Dubin market “has delivered strong returns to those who took the risk.”

They showcase two flipped houses, one modest bungalow in Mount Merrion that cost $800,000 in October 2013 is now for sale at $1.2 million with some renovation.

The one next door to it sold originally at $800,000 also, but without renovation a few months later is now also for sale and going for $1.2 million.

Irish Times writer Aidan Murphy notes: “These price rises have ensured the trend isn’t exclusive to Mount Merrion, house flipping is occurring at every end of the Dublin market – from Shrewsbury Road mansions to modest semis (semi-detached) in west Dublin.”

The operative word is Dublin, which is fast becoming like London and its vast commuter belt.

There are two Britains: London and its hinterland where property prices are explosive and the rest of the UK, most parts of which are still struggling.

Ireland is fast heading in that direction. Dublin is at the center of every major property transaction while the provinces appear to be stuck in neutral.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s most expensive property was in the news again. 24 Shrewsbury Road, Dublin sold for $75 million – incredible as that may seem – at the height of the boom, bought by property developer Sean Dunne.

it changed hands since then for as low as $18 million but the two acre site is now back in the news as reporters have been unable to identify who the latest owner is, only able to learn that a Cypriot based company bought it.

Investor’s Chronicle recently dubbed Ireland the “Celtic Phoenix” emerging out of the ashes of the Celtic Tiger bust.

Whether that is the case remains to be seen. No doubt the investors and buyers who went bust under the old Tiger will move a lot more warily this time.

Or will they?

'Greed is good' as Gordon Gekko famously said. It remains to be seen if another bubble is building in Ireland.