NEWS THAT THE bidding process for homes in Ireland is pushing up prices is likely to come as no surprise to anyone who’s been through it.

Researchers at the ESRI warned that pitting homebuyers against each other in a bidding war is creating “auction fever” that’s likely to be feeding into rising property prices – pushing people to exceed their budget and what they believe properties are worth.

They said this is the case for both online bidding platforms, now in widespread use, and the traditional method of making bids over the phone to estate agents. 

We want to hear from you

Have you bought a house or apartment in Ireland in recent years? 

We’d love to hear about your experience for a forthcoming article on this topic. 

• Did you make just one bid, or several – and how many properties did you bid on?
• Did you find the bidding process easy or stressful, transparent or opaque?
• If you went sale agreed, did you manage to stay within your budget?
• Did you pay what you originally thought the property was worth, less, or more?
• How do you think the bidding process in Ireland could be improved?
• How would you feel about the alternative ‘sealed-bid’ system used in Scotland, whereby bidders make a ‘sealed’, confidential offer via a solicitor by a specific date, and the seller chooses the best of these?
• If you’ve used a different system, such as sealed bids or an auctioneers’ sale, how did that go?

Email us at answers@thejournal.ie with your experience and thoughts. Keep your answers to a paragraph or two (maximum 300 words). 

Please include your name and county, and let us know if you would prefer to remain anonymous.