With a lot of uncertainty still hanging around the auction rooms, agents will be looking for ways of luring bidders back in after the summer lull. The real action won't get underway for another two weeks when we should get some idea how the upper end of the market in particular is squaring up. Apart altogether from the slowdown experienced in recent months, agents will be well aware of the disillusionment among buyers over the way the auction process operated when the market was running strongly. In a great number of cases, the final sale price bore little relation to the guide.

Sensing this, Michael Grehan of Sherry FitzGerald is now breaking new ground by auctioning a fine period house on Prince Edward Terrace in Blackrock with a declared reserve of £700,000 (€888,816). This means that prospective buyers know from the start that as soon as bidding reaches that figure, the house is officially on the market and can be sold. It's a welcome step in the direction of transparency - but will it catch on?