2008Review:  INTERVIEW:Oversupply of properties is one of the big problems with the current market, IAVI president Edward Carey tells Rose Doyle

PEOPLE WITH houses on the market "who absolutely don't need to sell should take them off and rethink things in the New Year", says Edward Carey, president of the Irish Institute of Auctioneers and Valuers (IAVI). Carey couldn't have foreseen the tumultuous economic times ahead when he took up the job eight months ago. But he is a man of formidable energy and enthusiasm and says these less-than-busy times on the market have had an upside, giving him time to use his presidency to sound out the organisation at grass roots level.

The day we met he was off to Belfast on the last leg of a nationwide tour meeting with and listening to members' concerns. His 32-county journey's been highly informative, he says, and he's glad he was able to do it.

A Meath man born to the business of auctioneering, he has the Royal County's talent for straight talking - "plain speaking" he calls it, with no small amount of pride. He's also a man with a clear view of the issues facing both the property market and the country's auctioneers and valuers.

That's why he says that people with houses on the market who absolutely don't need to sell should take them off. "When there's nothing doing it's best to take a house off the market. Buyers and sellers need motivation; there's no point buyers looking at properties if the seller is disappointed by prices and not motivated to sell."

He believes too that the "oversupply of properties is one of the big problems with the market", and that among the country's estimated 35,000 empty properties there are "some which will never sell because they were built in places in which they should never have been built".

He believes, in the wake of the controversy about exaggerated sales prices submitted for publication by some agents, that the conflict between Irish consumer and data protection law will have to be resolved to allow accurate reporting of house prices.

"Data protection says prices can't be reported without permission from buyer and seller. Consumer protection says only the exact price can be reported," he points out.

He believes job losses in the industry will come mainly from among the "huge numbers" not qualified to be agents, what he calls the "easy come, easy go" brigade and that this will be "a good thing for the market. Now is the time for those who are qualified to step up to the mark and better the service given to both seller and buyer."

He believes that the market could begin to stabilise in July-September 2009 and that building could kick off in three to four years. All depending, of course, on global recovery.

And he believes, absolutely, in the IAVI, its members and his mission to put his time as its president to good use. His grass root credentials are impeccable: "I remember as a schoolboy going to Meadow and House Auctions with my father. My first job was with Hamilton Osborne King, now Savills, where I trained under John Morley who was brilliant, superb. A lot of what he taught me I'm handing onto my staff."

He qualified in 1991 and well remembers final year discussions about the job market. "We pounded the streets with our CVs, some of us stayed at home, some went abroad, all of us got jobs." His father, Bill Carey, "started in business in Enfield about 1964". Edward Carey is in business in Enfield himself these days, "a natural progression" he says.

Sister Liz works with him but Bill and Betty Carey's three other offspring choose different careers: his brother is an economist with the World Bank in Washington DC, his sister Mary works for Meath County Council and sister Sarah is an Irish Times columnist.

He's predictably enthusiastic when asked if he would encourage his own children into auctioneering. "Oh, yes, I would. But only if they wanted to. The eldest, Ciara, is 23, and has no interest whatsoever, she's got a good life on her own terms. The others, Rachel and Alex, are aged nine and seven and what they do will be their decision."

The IAVI, he says, "comes into its own at a time like this; professionalism and integrity are important when things get tough. It's a great time to be president, to be able to look at the market from a different point of view, at membership and IAVI issues more closely."

He's putting time into improving educational requirements for members, into grass roots involvement and, not least, into improving public perception of an organisation tarnished by what he calls "the roguery in some quarters" of auctioneering.

His view of market recovery he describes as "blindingly obvious. There's an overcorrection taking place at the moment. There will be a small bounce when we hit the bottom and then things will plateau out.

"That plateau will see most of the 35,000 overhang sell, though the wrong type of property built in the wrong place won't sell and is a big part of the problem."

He cites, as examples, apartments along the Shannon and other holiday destinations as well as "certain apartment types in Dublin that are just too small, impractical and create poor social environments. The social fabric has to be considered when building."

Standards and educational qualifications for IAVI members (who number "a steady 2,000") are "key" and dear to his heart. "Well-qualified students are better placed to find employment," he believes. He's overseen changes which will slim the IAVI's national council from 24 to 12 members.

With wife Cora he had a look at things from the US perspective earlier in the year when, with impeccable timing, he attended a NAR (National Association of Realtors) convention there "right in the middle of the election outcome. It was history in the making. The world in general needs Obama as president of the US. "

For the future he sees a distinction between market recovery and improvement in prices. "One doesn't mean the other; when both happen the market will really be in recovery."

He sounds a cautionary, concerned note too about the effect on the market of the energy rating certificate programme, due to come into force for all sales and rental properties on January 1st.

"Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) is in charge of issuing the certificates and just doesn't have enough assessors. Unless this is sorted house sales could be seriously held up."