Ahern announces a new property database which will include prices and trends. bit.ly/ddGWZJ
Long needed. About time.
Whats the catch?
I have no doubts whats so ever that this will be infected at every level by the cute hoors…
I would imagine the catch is that you will now have to pay property tax.
Department of Justice?
Legislation still to be enacted?
Authority still to be set up?
Dermot Ahern?
Transparency?
"market trends” and "statistical purposes’
I predict a load of graphs.
I’d say the catch will be that it will be nowhere near specific enough to be of any use to anybody.
It will probably be a mirror of the PTSB/ESRI index but with figures from the revenue rather than PTSB mortgage figures.
Actually, I bet there will be different levels of access.
Joe Public gets a quarterly report with graphs.
Bankers, EAs, and Solicitors get access to the full database, but with a €100 fee attached to every query submitted.
The database will be owned by the the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, but Property Services Regulatory Authority will take responsibility for publishing the data.
+1
Who reckons the report will simply say “Never a better time to buy” each month?
N Nadda else…
Oh, did we get a new quango out of it?
They finally found something to do!
That was the quango set up in Navan a couple of years back which had no discernable purpose but to rent office space.
In fairness there is a dire need for this particular agency but not for the purposes of publishing property price data.
They are supposed to regulate property management companies.
Not sure why this can’t just be provided by the Revenue or the land registry.
I bet the way they’re going to go about it is going to cost an absolute fortune. (Hence the €100 a query jibe)
Surely all it needs is a monthly downloadable CSV file, or a web application with an open API that anyone who wants to can write an application against?
Would cost next to nothing.
The cynicism is understandable, but my view is that they can’t really dodge providing genuinely revealing data. As in, it will not be hard to tell what houses are actually selling for even if it’s a wee bit opaque. Alternatively, it’s even possible it’ll be fully transparent like the UK system.
We badly need a humour forum. 
Maybe I missed something here but this seems like a whole lot of nothing to me. I can use Daft and MyHome to have a look at property price data if I’m so inclined. If this register isn’t going to publish actual sale prices it’s as good as useless in my book. And I haven’t seen anything to suggest achieved sale prices will be included.
I guess we will have to await the publishing of the amendments to the Bill to see what is actually involved…Be interesting to see the views of FG and labour on this…
It’ll just run along the lines of the ESRI/PTSB jobby…
IE averages in large areas with little or no break down.
This will really only be capable of giving a broad indicator of prices continuing to drop or prices beginning to stabilise and increase.
Now since the state owns so much property via NAMA… I can’t see it being anything but a frigging great time to buy… always.!