The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) says its members will not now publish any sales figures other than the exact sale price achieved for any property.

The IAVI said terms such as ‘region of’, ‘close to’ or ‘above’ cannot be used. The IAVI and the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers met the National Consumer Agency this week.

The IAVI believes that the new system can be in place for sale IAVI members’ results published in the week commencing May 5th, as newspapers have already been furnished with the details that will be published up to and including Sunday May 4th.

IAVI President Mr Edward Carey explained that the publication of actual sales price would require the consent of the seller and buyer under the Data Protection Act.

“Unless the legislation changes it is likely that very few sale prices, other than the small portion of properties sold publicly at auction, will be made known to the public. The IAVI has advised the National Consumer Agency that the solution being adopted will result in a market that lacks transparency.

“The IAVI calls on the Government to urgently address this problem by either instructing the Valuation Office to collate and publish a register of all property sales or amending the Data Protection Act to permit auctioneers, estate agents and valuers to release exact sale prices and rents without the consent of sellers, buyers, landlords or tenants. In the view of the IAVI, any such changes should also be retrospective so that historic data may be published to provide an accurate picture of past prices and rents,” he said.

Auction info www.ipav.ie

Posted: 05|2|08 at 1:54 pm. Filed under: Auction News.