28 September 2026 · 6 min read · Oscar Markham
The Price Register changed the vendor conversation
Before the Residential Property Price Register, an estate agent's valuation was an opinion the homeowner had no way to check. Now every vendor in the country can see what actually sold, on what street, for how much, and when. Plenty of Irish agencies have never adjusted to that, and it shows in how they pitch.
The vendor has already done the research
By the time they call you they have looked at the register, looked at the portals, and formed a view. Frequently an optimistic one, because they have compared their house to the best-presented one on the street.
Walking in and producing a figure as though it were privileged knowledge is now slightly insulting. The job has changed from knowing the number to explaining the number.
Show the comparables and argue from them
Bring the recent sales. Say which ones you think are genuinely comparable and which are not, and why — the extension, the aspect, the condition, the year.
That conversation demonstrates competence in a way an unsupported figure never can. It also inoculates you against the agency that will come in after you and quote a higher number to win the instruction.
The overvaluing problem got worse, not better
Because vendors can check, the temptation for a competing agency to flatter them is stronger, not weaker. Winning an instruction on a price that will not achieve is still the most common way Irish agencies damage themselves.
The defence is evidence, given early and in writing. A vendor who has seen your reasoning is much harder to move with a number six months later when the house has not sold.
Publish what has sold in your area
The register is public, so summarising it for a suburb or town is entirely legitimate and genuinely useful. 'What sold in Naas this quarter, and what it tells you' is exactly what a homeowner considering a move searches for.
Very few Irish agencies publish anything like this. It ranks, it demonstrates local knowledge better than any claim to it, and it brings people to you at the research stage rather than the shortlist stage.
Use it on the buyer side too
Buyers check the register as well, and an asking price that looks disconnected from recent sales creates hesitation that slows everything down.
Addressing it directly in the listing — why this house is priced where it is — removes a friction most listings simply leave sitting there.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.