Ireland has no official per-property price estimate — no Zestimate equivalent. The method professional valuers and Revenue both point to is comparison: find recent sold prices for similar homes nearby, then adjust for the differences. This guide walks through doing that properly with public data.
The foundation of any Irish valuation is the Property Price Register (PPR) — the Revenue-maintained record of actual transacted prices for residential sales since 2010. Asking prices on Daft.ie or MyHome.ie are a seller's negotiating position; in overbidding rounds homes routinely close above asking, and in soft phases below it.
The gap between asking and sold prices moves with the market cycle, so an asking price on its own is weak evidence of value. Sold prices are the evidence; asking prices are, at best, a hint about current seller sentiment.
A usable comparable ('comp') matches the subject property on type (detached, semi, terrace, apartment), broad size band, and immediate area — ideally the same estate or street, failing that the same Small Area or townland. Recency matters: sales within the last 6–12 months need little adjustment; older sales should be trend-adjusted using the CSO's Residential Property Price Index for the region.
Use several comps, not one. Revenue's own guidance for valuing a property says to compare multiple properties of a similar type, age and size rather than relying on a single transaction — one sale can embed a private arrangement, an executor sale, or a bidding anomaly.
This is the same 'comparative method' that chartered valuers apply under SCSI/RICS valuation standards; the difference is that a professional inspects the property and weighs the adjustments from experience.
PPR records contain no floor area, no BER, no condition information and no photos. Two identical-looking entries can be a renovated home with an attic conversion and a wreck. To adjust properly, pull each comp's listing history (photos, floor area, description at the time of sale) and its BER cert from the SEAI register.
Common adjustments: floor area differences, an extension or converted attic, refurbishment state, BER band (energy-efficient homes attract both buyer preference and, from several lenders, better mortgage rates), garden orientation and size, and parking.
Automated valuation models (AVMs) industrialise the comparables method: they train on PPR sold prices and estimate a fair-value range for a specific home, with the comps laid out for inspection. iHouse's paid valuation report is one of these — a model trained on verified PPR transactions, plus comparable-sales tables, bid guidance, running-cost estimates, scheme-eligibility screens (Help-to-Buy, First Home Scheme) and planning / flood context, delivered online and as a PDF.
A data-driven report is a buyer-research tool: it tells you what the evidence supports before you bid. It is not a substitute for a professional valuation where one is legally or contractually required — see the next section.
Mortgage drawdown, probate, separation agreements, Fair Deal applications and most legal or tax processes require a valuation by a chartered valuer — in Ireland, a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) working to RICS 'Red Book' standards. Lenders typically insist the valuer is on their own panel.
For those purposes, online estimates (iHouse's included) don't qualify. The self-service method in this guide is for the decisions that come before that: what to offer, whether an asking price is realistic, and whether a sale price you're comparing against was itself an outlier.
No. Ireland has no official or dominant automated estimate. The public foundation is the Property Price Register (actual sold prices since 2010); several Irish services, including iHouse, build automated estimates and valuation reports on top of it using the comparables method.
Three to five recent sales of a similar property type in the same area is a solid basis. Revenue's valuation guidance recommends comparing several similar properties rather than relying on one transaction, since any single sale can be anomalous.
No — offers are commercial decisions and need no formal valuation. A professional valuation becomes mandatory at mortgage drawdown (arranged via your lender's panel) and for legal, probate or tax purposes.