LACK of finance, lack of transparency, and a lack of hard data on what houses are selling for are combining to keep Ireland’s housing market in the doldrums.

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.

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.

The Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (IAVI) has reached agreement with the National Consumer Agency to refrain from publishing any sale figures other than the exact sale price achieved for any property.