Buying
Buying a house in Ireland without an estate agent
Daft takes listings from private sellers and MyHome does not, and either way nothing binds anyone until contracts are exchanged.
Where private sellers actually list in Ireland
Each of these is a separate pool. A saved search on one tells you nothing about the others, so set up alerts on every one you intend to use.
- Anyone.com Listed by the owner
Homes listed by the people who own them, so you are dealing with the decision-maker rather than waiting on someone to pass a message along. That matters in Ireland, where the stretch between sale agreed and exchange is where purchases fall apart.
More than 31 million active listings across 31 markets, agent-represented and owner-listed together. Daft.ie carries agent and private listings, with nothing marking which is which.
Search owner-listed homes ↗ - Daft.ie Owners can list, for a fee
Buyer filter Check the advertiser on the listing, since agent branding is prominent
Ireland's dominant property site, and it does take listings from private sellers through its self-serve ad flow, on paid tiers. So an Irish owner selling alone can reach essentially the whole buying market, which is unusual among the countries we cover. Agents pay a separate annual subscription rather than per ad, which is why their listings look different.
- MyHome.ie Agents only
Buyer filter Nothing to filter: sale listings come only from estate agents
Its own help pages put it plainly: private advertisers cannot list a property for sale, only to let or share. Sale listings come from its member agents. Useful for the agent market and no use at all for finding an owner.
- Facebook groups and local notice Owners can list
Buyer filter Search the town or county name with for sale
Still how a good number of rural and small-town Irish sales begin, along with a sign at the gate and word through a local solicitor. Nothing is verified and no BER will be attached.
- Auction and probate listings Owners can list
Buyer filter Catalogues published ahead of each sale
A separate pool that moves on its own timetable, including executor sales. Contracts are signed on the fall of the hammer, so the searches and the finance have to be finished beforehand.
How many homes this really covers
Nobody publishes how many Irish homes sell without an agent, and Daft's openness to private sellers means the ones that do are mixed into the ordinary listings rather than sitting somewhere separate. There is one real trade-off worth stating plainly: Help to Buy applies to new builds and self-builds only, so a buyer choosing a second-hand private sale is giving it up. That is worth up to €30,000, and it belongs in your arithmetic rather than in a footnote.
Sale agreed, and the fact that it binds nobody
This is the thing to understand before anything else. In Ireland an accepted offer creates no contract. Everything runs subject to contract until both sides have signed and their solicitors exchange, and only then is anyone committed. The booking deposit of 2 to 5 percent is fully refundable right up to that moment. Which means gazumping is entirely lawful: the seller may accept a higher offer at any point before exchange and you have no remedy. The Law Reform Commission has looked at it more than once and it remains unlegislated. On a private sale there is no agent chasing the chain, so that exposed window is often longer, not shorter. Compress it deliberately.
In force since Long-standing practice, still unlegislated. Read the legislation
Buying one, step by step
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Get your mortgage approval in principle first
With no agent qualifying buyers for the seller, approval in writing is what makes a private seller take you seriously. It also shortens the window in which you can be gazumped.
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Instruct a solicitor before you go sale agreed
The gap between sale agreed and exchange is the dangerous part, and on a private sale nobody else is pushing it along. Having your solicitor already briefed is the single biggest thing that shortens it.
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Treat the booking deposit for what it is
Refundable in full until contracts are exchanged, and it buys goodwill rather than exclusivity. In a private sale there is no agent holding it, so it should sit with the seller's solicitor as stakeholder, not with the seller.
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Get a survey booked immediately
A structural survey is yours to arrange and it is the only independent view you will get. Do it during the exposed window rather than after, so a problem gives you a reason to renegotiate while you still can.
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Check the BER before you commit
A valid certificate is legally required before a property is advertised, private seller or not. A poor rating shapes what you will spend on the house and increasingly what a lender will offer.
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Sign, exchange, then close
Your deposit tops up to ten percent at signing and is at risk from that point. Exchange is the moment the sale becomes binding. Closing follows once the balance is drawn down.
Check before any money moves
- Stamp duty at 1 percent to €1 million, 2 percent on the portion above that to €1.5 million and 6 percent beyond, so €4,000 on a €400,000 home
- The BER certificate and rating, required before the property may be advertised at all
- Title, folio and any burdens registered against the property at the Property Registration Authority
- Planning permission and compliance certificates for extensions, attic conversions and any change of use
- Whether the property is served by mains services or by a septic tank and a private well, and the condition of both
- Local Property Tax arrears and any management company charges on an apartment or a managed estate
Selling one instead? See where to list a home yourself in Ireland , or the full guide to selling without an agent in Ireland .
Common questions
Can private sellers advertise on Daft?
Yes, through its self-serve ad flow on paid tiers. That makes Ireland unusual: an owner selling alone can still reach the site nearly every Irish buyer uses. MyHome is the opposite and says so outright, taking sale listings only from estate agents.
Is sale agreed binding?
No. Nothing binds either party until contracts are signed and exchanged. Your booking deposit is fully refundable until then, and the seller may lawfully accept a higher offer at any point. Gazumping has no remedy in Irish law.
What stamp duty will I pay?
One percent up to €1 million, two percent on the portion between €1 million and €1.5 million, and six percent above that. The six percent band came in on 2 October 2024, so older guidance describing two bands is out of date. On €400,000 the duty is €4,000.
Does buying privately affect Help to Buy?
Yes, and this is the point most guides skip. Help to Buy covers new builds and self-builds only. Second-hand homes are excluded, and most private sales are second-hand, so choosing one means giving up a relief worth up to €30,000 if you were otherwise buying new. Work out which is worth more before you decide.
Do I need a solicitor?
In practice yes. Title investigation, the Revenue filing and registration all run through one, and no lender will draw down without a solicitor's undertaking. Expect €1,500 to €2,500 plus VAT, with registration outlays on top.
Sources
Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.
- Stamp duty rates on residential propertyRevenue · revenue.ie
- Help to Buy scheme: new builds and self-builds onlyCitizens Information · citizensinformation.ie
- Private advertisers cannot list properties for saleMyHome.ie · myhome.ie
- Gazumping: report and recommendationsLaw Reform Commission · publications.lawreform.ie