It found that the buying process in Ireland is marked by auctions that induce overbidding.
There is also widespread misunderstanding among homebuyers of rights and responsibilities, and increasing delays after sales are agreed, according to the ESRI research.
The study, which was funded by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), draws on a nationally representative survey of 800 adults. The ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit carried out an auction experiment to test how bidding behaviour changes when people face different bidding systems.
With open auctions organised by estate agents and online, the study found bids from those taking part were pushed higher than they would be if a sealed-bid auction process was used.
Participants in open auctions were more likely to exceed their original budget and to bid higher than their view of what the property was worth, according to Dr Deirdre Robertson of the ESRI, the lead academic carrying out the study.
People are navigating a system they may not fully understand
People keep bidding even when they exceed their budget for fear of missing out, known as “loss aversion”.
“Bidding systems may induce loss aversion because an individual is repeatedly losing their place as the top bidder when someone else places a bid,” the study said.
News in 90 Seconds – 9th February 2026
Competitive environments drive individuals to try to beat others, with people feeling losses more than gains, the ESRI said. This leads them to overbid.
Big gaps were found in people’s knowledge of rights and responsibilities. More than two-thirds know it is illegal for a seller to accept multiple deposits for the same property. But only one in five know that agents can legally continue to market a property after it goes sale agreed.
Dr Deirdre Robertson of the ESRI led the research
And most people do not know that a buyer can pull out of a sale without penalty before contracts are signed.
Experiences of what the ESRI called “stressful hurdles” are on the rise.
About six out of 10 people who previously bought a property in Ireland experienced at least one type of stressful hurdle during the process. But this figure rose to over 80pc among those who bought in the last three years.
The most common issues were delays. One-third of second-hand buyers experienced a delay in conveyancing and over a quarter of new-build buyers experienced a delay moving in.
Others included finding problems after the sale, sellers pulling out and spending more on additional costs than expected. Conveyancing delays were the most common stressful problem for sellers.
Many buyers don’t appreciate that auctioneers are working on behalf of the seller
The auction experiment found the online system actually inflated prices the most, with the sealed-bid system least inflating prices.
“The findings show that people are navigating a system they may not fully understand and increasingly experiencing stress, especially delays to conveyancing,” Dr Robertson said.
“Our findings also suggest that the most commonly used bidding systems encourage people to overbid, inflating prices.”
Asked for a comment, Genevieve McGuirk of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (Ipav) said that as the ESRI study points out, there are some limitations to the research.
“Bidding would normally happen over a period of days, even weeks, so it gives the purchaser a chance to think about their offer and time to think about the suitability of the property,” she said.
She added that estate agents in Ireland do operate a sealed-bids system, although it is less popular than auctions.
Ms McGuirk agreed that there is much misunderstanding around property sales. “Many buyers don’t appreciate that auctioneers are working on behalf of the seller, not the buyer, and that they are also obliged to get the best price the market has to offer for the seller,” she said.
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