The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) today published the Residential Property Price Register. The Register may be accessed on www.propertypriceregister.ie
The Register has been produced by the Authority under the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011.
The Register includes information on residential properties purchased in Ireland since the 1st January 2010, as declared to the Revenue Commissioners for stamp duty purposes.
It contains the price paid for individual properties and contains details of all residential sales – both cash sales and sales with mortgage. The particulars published in the Register include the price, the date of sale and the address (including house number) of each residential property sold in Ireland since January 2010. The information will be updated on a regular basis and, for the most part, the information will be published within a month of the date of sale of the property.
The Register can be searched by reference to a number of criteria including all sales by county, city or town, individual property address and by year. Such a facility will enable members of the public to discover easily and quickly prices paid for properties sold in Ireland since January, 2010. It will provide buyers and sellers with a service they have previously lacked namely, accurate and up-to-date information on the market price of individual properties.
Following today’s launch, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, TD, said “The publication of the Residential Property Price Register fulfils a key Programme for Government commitment to improve the quality of information available on the Irish housing market by requiring that the selling price of all dwellings is recorded in a publicly available, national housing price database. The establishment of such a database was first recommended many years ago and in my first year in office I prioritised enactment of the Property Services Regulation Act 2011 to facilitate its establishment.”
“In recent years, because of the steep downturn in the property market, it has been difficult to get accurate information on property prices. This uncertainty has led to a lack of investor confidence and has contributed to stagnation in the property market, particularly among first time buyers. The publication of the Register should help to remove some of this uncertainty, restore some confidence in the property market and provide transparency in residential property sale prices.”
The Chairperson of the Property Services Regulatory Authority, Ms Geraldine Clarke, added, “I would like to acknowledge the speedy work done by the Authority to get the Property Price Register up and running on time and as promised. The Property Price Register will be of substantial assistance in helping people make decisions in relation to one of the most important purchases of their lives. The Authority will continue to play its part in ensuring that it provides the highest protection for consumers and that the highest standards are maintained in the industry.”
It is important to note that the Register is not intended as a “Property Price Index”. The details made available on the property register are limited to price, address and date of sale and do not include such details as property size or number of rooms. It is simply designed to provide, on an ongoing basis, accurate prices of residential properties purchased at a particular date.
30 September 2012
ENDS
Note for Editors:
The Minister for Justice and Equality, by order under the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011, established the Authority on a statutory basis on 3 April 2012.
The Authority was established to control and regulate Property Services Providers (i.e. Auctioneers/Estate Agents, Letting Agents and management Agents). Its main functions are:
· To control, supervise and regulate Property Services Providers (i.e. Auctioneers/Estate Agents, Letting Agents and Management Agents);
· To operate a comprehensive licensing system covering all Property Services Providers;
· To set and enforce:-
o standards for the grant of licences to Property Services Providers (e.g. educational/training standards; levels of professional indemnity insurance), and
o standards to be observed in the provision of property services by Property Services Providers (e.g. technical standards; appropriate ethical standards);
· To establish and administer a system of investigation and adjudication of complaints against Property Services Providers;
· To conduct audits and inspections of Property Services Providers as part of the general compliance and enforcement function;
· To enforce the legislation through the imposition of sanctions (which include fines of up to €250,000 and the revocation of licences) and initiating court prosecutions as appropriate;
· To promote increased consumer protection and public awareness of property services in general and the cost to consumers, risks and benefits associated with the provision of those services;
· To establish, maintain and administer a Compensation Fund to compensate parties who lose money as a direct consequence of the dishonesty of a Property Services Provider;
· To establish and maintain a Public Register of Property Sales Prices;
· To establish and maintain a Commercial Leases Database;
· To establish and maintain a Public Register of Licensed Property services Providers;
· To produce and enforce Codes of Practice for Property Services Providers;
Since its establishment the Authority has put in place a new licensing system for Property Services Providers. With effect from 6th July 2012 all service providers must be licensed by the Authority and must meet new requirements including, minimum qualifications requirements, have professional indemnity insurance, be tax compliant and contribute to a compensation fund. On completion of the licensing process the Authority will publish a Register of all licensees.
Today the new Residential Property Prices Register was launched.
The Authority’s Chairperson, Ms Geraldine Clarke, and Chief Executive, Mr Tom Lynch, are available to answer any queries and may be contacted at:
087-2207861 (Chairperson)
087- 9183042 (Chief Executive)