The outlook for Ireland's property market is being described as "cautiously optimistic" by auctioneers today.

HOMEOWNERS are facing a year of interest rate hikes and plunging house prices as banks look to claw back losses.

Landlord representatives today slammed a new ban on upward-only commercial rent reviews as short-sighted and damaging to the economy.

MIDDLE income families should brace themselves for hefty charges on water, property and universal welfare payments, according to the Government-ordered template for stabilising the tax system.

NAMA will pay billions above its real value for commercial property because the Government has refused to enact legislation banning upward-only lease agreements.

House prices are on the verge of bottoming out, according to the latest survey from the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute.

HOUSE prices have fallen by more than a fifth since the property bubble peaked in February 2007, the latest market review revealed yesterday.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute has expressed concern about speculation that a property tax may be introduced in next week's emergency Budget.

IRELAND’s discredited banks still hold a few keys to recovery in the housing market — and one is for them to agree settlement figures for those homeowners trapped in a negative equity bind.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute says it does not expect any improvement in the property market until the end of this year at the earliest.

ANY budget changes affecting construction or property deals should be backdated to today to stop the market going into paralysis.

A LEADING Government think-tank has recommended the introduction of a property tax to replace stamp duty as a measure to counteract a major slowdown in the housing market.

Government officials, consumer groups and organisations with a vested interest in the property market are meeting today in an effort to resolve a dispute over the publication of house prices.

THE consumer watchdog yesterday gave estate agents 48 hours to agree to publish only accurate prices for homes they have sold or face prosecution.

Some of the media have been publishing lists of inflated prices at which property has supposedly been sold by private treaty after certain agents provided exaggerated prices of property in order to inflate the price at which they might sell other property.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, which represents about 2,000 qualified auctioneers, has called on the Government to fast-track the promised Property Services Regulatory Authority Bill, first introduced in 2006.

Regulation in the property market is urgently needed to stop “cowboys” ripping off home buyers, it was claimed today.

A property developer concerned about a dip in the housing market is being forced to give away free cars to sell houses.

UNCERTAINTY over the state of the property market intensified yesterday as falling demand for homes led to a record 61% slump in the number of new houses being built.

ONLINE property company Funda Ireland have announced that it has ceased operations.

THE EU’s decision to challenge Irish laws that restrict planning permission to locals living in the area, working in certain land-based occupations and speaking Irish has led to a clash between auctioneers and a Government MEP.

FARMLAND has risen in value by over 25% nationally in a single year, according to the annual property survey of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI).

HOUSEHUNTERS will have to check out two tags when searching for that dream property from today — the first is the price, the second is the house’s energy rating.

A NUMBER of tax anomalies are causing hardship for many farmers and landowners, according to John Dawson, president of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute.

UNEXPECTED tax bills are hitting farmers who fall foul of hidden anomalies in the taxation of property deals, warned John Dawson, President of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, at the Ploughing Championships.

Almost one fifth of first-time home-buyers in Ireland are non-nationals, according to research conducted by the Irish Mortgage Corporation.

Househunters were today warned they face a tricky balancing act in getting on to the property ladder as a new house price survey showed signs of a slowdown, the first for five years.

LIKE much media coverage regarding the auctioneering profession, your lead story (Irish Examiner, June 10) was inaccurate in that it referred to regulations being published to protect house-hunters from “tricks of the trade, including gazumping — where auctioneers pull out of a deal after receiving a higher bid”.

PROPERTY investors got a soft landing yesterday with a three-year phased removal of tax reliefs, instead of them being axed next July as previously expected.

THE Government has agreed to clamp down on rogue auctioneering practices through a new industry watchdog with extensive powers of investigation and sanction.

ESTATE agents will have to prove they are competent at their job before being allowed to practice.

By Mary Dundon Political Reporter

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute has predicted that house prices in Ireland will continue to increase at levels well above the rate of inflation this year.

AUCTIONEERS were accused yesterday of mistreating vulnerable housebuyers by enticing them into showrooms with unrealistically low guide prices.

CONFIRMATION was still awaited last night as to whether the Revenue Commissioners acted within their powers when they ‘blitzed’ estate agents’ offices and took away lists of clients who had purchased properties overseas.

FINDING somebody to take responsibility for adding rocket fuel to house prices is even more difficult than locating a reasonably priced home.

FALLING rents and an increased supply of rental accommodation have resulted in a slowdown in the buy-to-let market over the last year, but banks continue to report strong demand among borrowers.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute has predicted a slight slowdown in the housing market this year.

THE decentralisation of eight Government departments will alleviate pressure on the Dublin housing market and spark economic growth throughout the country, it was claimed last night.

LEVIES on property development have been proposed by two of the country’s stronger property representative bodies, the Society of Chartered Surveyors and the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute.