This image reflects one of the most bizarre phenomena of the Irish property market: that some agents do not include the asking price of the properties they are selling on behalf of their clients in the advertising that those same clients ultimately pay for.
I find it hard to believe that some agents don't record other details of properties: floor area, year of construction, size of plot etc. But PRICE, the damn price they are seeking - how can it be that they wouldn't advertise that? If I'm searching in a particular price range, how am I to know they have properties that match?
What do the clients think? Well, if John Quinn's success in Galway is anything to go by - they are not too bothered. This agent lists about 15% of the properties coming on the market in Galway city, and yet doesn't include prices in either his advertising in the Advertiser or on his website. (He does allow you to search in large price brackets, but is this sufficient?) One of his tag lines on the site is: Galway's New Generation of Estate Agents. Aaaagh!
We're trying to encourage transparency in the market, most recently introducing a way for agents to exchange information on private treaty results, and yet this is what we are up against.
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