When is a house sale 'agreed'?

Madam, - Surely the practice of advertising a property as being for sale when a sale has already been agreed can only be seen…

Madam, - Surely the practice of advertising a property as being for sale when a sale has already been agreed can only be seen as inviting gazumping and should be stopped.

Recently I noticed that many properties on the website www.myhome.ie were already "sale agreed". On enquiring, I was that they were still being advertised at the vendor's request. I have difficulty in understanding this as in my book a house is either "sale agreed" or it is not. I feel that the only motive for continuing to advertise is to secure a higher price.

If a sale has been agreed, then it should be illegal to advertise or give the impression that a property is still available, whether in newspaper advertisements, estate agent shopfronts or websites. - Yours, etc,

BARRY CARDIFF, Mounttown Villas, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.