“MISERABLE”, “MANIC”, “NIGHTMARE” and “madness” were some of the words our readers used to describe the process of bidding on a house in Ireland.

But the word used most often was “stressful”. Readers told us they felt they were operating in the dark when it came to the biggest financial decision of their life.

We asked our readers for their experiences of bidding on homes after the ESRI warned this week that the de facto auction system for selling houses in Ireland is driving prices up and leading buyers to exceed both their budgets and what they think properties are really worth – particularly when increasingly popular online auctions are used.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said this week in response to the ESRI research that reform is needed in conveyancing – and our readers certainly think so.

Our thanks to everyone who got in touch. Here’s what you told us.

‘A panicked scramble of live bidding’

The ESRI’s research found Ireland’s system of de facto open auctions for homes pushes bidding higher – and that was our readers’ experience too.

“The bidding process was awful,” said one reader, who said his family viewed between 40 and 50 houses in north Dublin in 2022 and 2023, bidding on more than half of them.

This reader had a particular issue with the online bidding platform used by one of the largest estate agents, Sherry Fitzgerald (several other major estate agents have since launched their own online bidding platforms).

The reader felt the online system led to a “panicked scramble of live bidding within a short period”.

“Obviously, people desperate for a house would bid as soon as a higher bid came in. It was manic,” he said.

This very much aligns with the ESRI’s research, which found that online systems – although favoured by many buyers because they bring increased visibility – are the most inflationary.

Sherry Fitzgerald defended its online platform, which it said enhances transparency and maintains bidder confidentiality, as is standard practice in any buying process.

“As licensed estate agents, we are regulated by the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) and required to act transparently and ethically at all times. Sherry FitzGerald processes fully align with [PSRA] regulations,” it told The Journal.

Joanne and her husband placed several bids on a house through Sherry Fitzgerald’s online system, only for the seller to go with the second-highest bidder – a cash buyer. She said she feels now that her bids were used to drive up the final price.

Sherry Fitzgerald said: “While a cash buyer can be attractive, it does not automatically secure a property. All bidder circumstances are established and presented to the vendor, who ultimately decides how to proceed.”

Minimum bids

More than one reader said they had ended up paying over €100,000 above the asking price for houses in Dublin, and had exceeded their original budget. Some said they had had to ask family for financial help to go sale agreed.

Some readers told us that the online bidding systems they had to use to buy their houses set minimum bidding increments of €2,000 and more.

One reader bought a house in Dublin last year after a three-way bidding war that saw the price rise to €45,000 above the asking price – near the top of his budget.

The estate agent, Madden Property, only allowed bids at a minimum increase of €2,000 on its online platform.

“The price crept up quickly,” the reader said. “At the height, there were three or four bids per day.”

This went on for two weeks. The reader said he has no doubt that the online platform increased the ultimate price he paid. Madden Property has been contacted for comment.

Another reader bought his house from Hunters Estate Agent in Donnybrook, which used an online bidding system and required bids to be at least €2,500 higher than the current highest bid. He described the entire bidding process as an “absolute nightmare”.

Bobby Geraghty, a director at Hunters, said increments were set relative to the value of the house, with €2,500 at the higher end of the scale. He added that buyers had the option to phone up and offer a different bid.

“If we set the increments at €500 it would actually increase the amount of bids. If we set the increments at a euro it would drag out the process forever. There has to be an order of difference,” Geraghty said.

Geraghty said Hunters pays to use an independent online bidding platform which can produce an “independent audit log” of bids compliant with regulatory requirements. He added that the bidding platform requires bidders to upload their identification and proof of funds, which “eliminates fake bids”. 

He said that estate agents could not legally tell people who they were bidding against, but people had also not known who they were bidding against when it was over the phone.

Geraghty said that regardless of the method by which people bid on homes, the escalation in house prices in Ireland is driven by lack of supply and intense demand.

“We’ve less supply than we’ve had in many, many years and when product comes to the market there is unquestionably going to be demand for it, and that’s what is pushing up prices,” Geraghty said.

The PSRA, the state regulator of estate agents, said there is nothing to prevent estate agents from setting minimum increments per bid. The regulator added that property services providers must record details of all bids.

“It should be noted that property services providers act on behalf of their client, ie the vendor, in the sale of their property and take instruction from their client on how the sale is conducted,” the regulator added.

‘They asked me to bid against myself’

Sarah told us she’s just come through the “miserable process” of buying a home – viewing 18 properties and bidding on four last year before finally going sale agreed.

She praised the online bidding process for at least being more transparent than the alternatives.

Two other estate agents she dealt with worked by email and one over the phone, which she found to be the worst, as the agent was slow to keep her updated but pushed her to be fast with counter-bids.

On the property she is now sale agreed on, she offered the asking price and was the only person to place a bid for almost a month.

“I got two calls from the estate agent in that time asking if I’d be willing to increase my offer – so essentially asking me to bid against myself!” Sarah said.

We heard from several people asked to bid against themselves to secure a property.

When Claire downsized last year she bid on three houses – being “blown out of the water” on the first one when another bidder offered €50,000 above the asking price, and bowing out of the second when bidding hit €500,000 on a house placed on the market for €430,000.

When bidding stalled €10,000 above the asking price on the house Claire eventually bought, the estate agent suggested that if she matched the bid on the table, hers would be accepted as she was considered an attractive buyer. She did so – but then was asked for another €5,000 to secure the house.

“Out of desperation I did offer that extra figure,” Claire said.

‘Auctioneers act for the seller’

The lack of transparency in the bidding process and the imbalance of power in favour of estate agents were key issues raised again and again. Several readers told us they found it difficult to have faith that every bid being placed against them was genuine.

This aligns with the ESRI’s research, which found 14% of homeowners surveyed suspected they had experienced “ghost bidding” when trying to buy a home.

“Ghost bidding is not legal and there is no way to verify if this is accurate or not, but it is an indication of a lack of trust,” the ESRI researchers stated.

Liam, who bought with his wife in Co Kildare three years ago, told us: “For what is the biggest investment most families will ever make, the lack of transparency is baffling.”

After bidding on many houses in Dublin, Lynn told us that if you have an issue with estate agents, there’s nothing you can do for fear of being “blacklisted” in the area in which you want to buy.

Online bidding systems also request a “best and final” offer with “no clarity that there is for sure another bidder on the other side, so you could be outbidding yourself”, Lynn said.

She believes online bidders should have “clear profiles” – and would be in favour of a sealed bid system like that used in Scotland, where everyone sends in one confidential bid and then the seller makes their decision.

Lack of transparency

Across all the emails we received, one thing was clear: if our readers could see one thing fixed in the house bidding process it’s the lack of transparency and assurance. Many readers called for greater regulation to protect buyers. While estate agents are the face of property transactions, they ultimately work for sellers, who make final decisions on when to close sales – but regulation protects everyone.

“We need to see where the bids are coming from to know if they’re real,” one reader told us. 

Liam, who bought in Co Kildare, said bidding should be conducted through solicitors.

Another reader, who bid on ten properties while trying to move home from America, had a number of suggestions for how the process could be improved.

There should be clear time frames in place for the next steps after bids are presented, and bidders should be stress-tested and registered to ensure they can complete the purchase (and are not just bidding up the price to no end). Other readers raised this point too. 

Other readers, particularly in Dublin, said estate agents should be required to list houses for realistic prices, rather than listing for below market value to tempt more people into the bidding process. Emer, a teacher, said it’s a practice that some estate agents have “openly admitted” to her.

“The current system is broken,” Emer said.

“Buyers shouldn’t be at the mercy of bidding wars that punish patience, savings and sanity. People must be held accountable, and the process urgently needs reform.

“Homeownership should not be a rollercoaster of stress, uncertainty, and financial risk -it should be fair, transparent and achievable.”

One reader, Sam, said: “Every house I bid on was massively underpriced to drum up interest and every house I bid on was sold for €100,000 to €150,000 above asking price.”

After six months of looking, Sam began bidding on a house through an estate agent that “does not require any proof of funds or proof of mortgage approval so literally anyone can bid on the house if they email”.

“That house sold for €150,000 over asking price.”

The PSRA, the regulator, said there is no legal requirement for estate agents to obtain proof of funds from interested buyers placing bids.

The regulator said it’s “considering the contents” of the ESRI’s report. The Journal put all of the personal experiences set out by readers to the regulator.

Estate agents say asking prices are based on similar sales in the area, and are generally only slightly exceeded.

The most recent MyHome.ie report indicates homes are selling for on average 8% above asking prices nationally, but over 10% higher in Dublin, a new high. One in five homes nationwide is now going for 20% above the asking price.

Some readers told us they would like to see the bidding process made more uniform across estate agents through tougher regulation of the sector.

The reader who bought a house in north Dublin after viewing 40 or 50 told us: “I don’t know what the perfect system is, but whatever it is, the Irish system is far from it.”