THE LONG-awaited database of house price sales in the Republic is likely to be in place within months following the formal establishment of the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.
Signing the commencement order yesterday and announcing the make-up of the board of the new authority, Mr Shatter said it would help to restore confidence in the property market and provide transparency in sale prices.
The authority has been given responsibility for the publication of residential property sale prices and the establishment and maintenance of a commercial leases database.
The information will be obtained by the authority from the Revenue Commissioners, who will have sourced it from purchasers’ solicitors.
The database is likely to be in place within months. It will offer accurate information on house price sales across the State free on the authority’s website.
The authority has also been given a mandate to set and enforce standards in the provision of property services by auctioneers, letting agents and property management agents, and to provide redress mechanisms for consumers of those services.
“I believe that the lack of transparency in the residential housing market and the absence of proper consumer protection standards have contributed in no small way to the problems of recent years,” Mr Shatter said.
He expressed confidence that the publication of residential property sales prices and information provided in the new commercial leases database would “restore much-needed confidence and revive property markets”.
He added that the database would be “one of the authority’s early priorities”.
Under the legislation, auctioneers will have to publish a realistic “advised market value” of a sale property rather than the discredited “guide price” mechanism.
The new requirement for transparency, when auctioneers provide advice and information about the availability of loans to would-be buyers, would also help to avoid the type of conflict of interests that could result in such purchasers borrowing excessively to their detriment, Mr Shatter said.
The current court-based system for regulating auctioneers and house agents will be replaced with an updated regulatory system covering auctioneers, estate agents, and property management agents.
The authority will investigate complaints against auctioneers, estate agents and property management agents and impose sanctions in respect of improper conduct. It will also carry out investigations on its own volition.
A compensation fund is also being established to provide compensation for losses arising from the dishonesty of licencees.
Mr Shatter also announced the make-up of the authority board.
Last December he called for expressions of interest from the public and 113 people applied to sit on the board on a part-time basis for a three- or four-year term.
The chairwoman is Geraldine Clarke, a solicitor with Gleeson McGrath Baldwin in Dublin.
She will receive a fee of €8,978 a year. Board members will get €5,985 per annum.
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