Now there are more letters to be interpreted by people who want to buy or sell a property.

But these, acccording to the estate agents, are being introduced wholly in the interest of transparency and in an attempt to consign to history the controversial practice of enticing buyers by advertising prices far lower than the seller will accept . . . or that the auctioneer really believes the property is worth.

Gone, as of 1 January, are the enigmatic days of the "guide price" for auction properties. Gone, too, is that other misty estimate of what the buyer will have to pay for a private treaty sale "price region".

In their place come AMVs (Advised Minimum Value) and APs (Asking Price) . . . two concepts that may seem rather strange at the moment, but which were recommended by the recent Department of Justice report into auctioneers and their practices.

The new Regulatory Authority with statutory powers has yet to be set up, but, meanwhile, the IAVI, the auctioneers' professional body, has told its 1,800 members to implement some of the reforms recommended by the review group in its report last year, and which will probably become law within the next 18 months.

The aim is to give buyers a far more accurate and straightfoward idea of what they will have to pay, and to bring clarity to the marketing of property, says Alan Cooke, chief executive of the IAVI.

From now on, auctioneers will advertise an "Advised Minimum Value" instead of a guide price. This is the price which the auctioneer has advised the seller to accept as a minimum on auction day . . . and as close to the reserve as it's possible to predict.

While it is never possible for auctioneers to say exactly how much a house will sell for at auction, the AMV should re"ect that point in an auction when the auctioneer says the property "is now on the market" . . . and not, as is currently the case, as much as 15% below the nebulous reserve.

"An 'Advised Minimum Value' must be noti"ed to your client in writing before marketing of any property commences, " says Alan Cooke in a memo to all members.

The AMV is de"ned in the review group report as "the selling agent's true opinion of value at the commencement of the marketing campaign".

Such a "gure, the report states, "must logically be capable of being justi"ed on a comparative or other valuation basis and should not be a range, but a speci"c "gure."

Cooke tells IAVI members that, in providing a client with an AMV, it is vital to make it clear that this is a "true opinion" and not "a guarantee that the "gure can or will be achieved".

"You should point out that, at the end of the day, buyers in competition will continue to dictate the price ultimately achieved and no one can predict with certainty what the outcome will be, " the IAVI chief executive says in his memo to members.

The AMV is the "gure that should be quoted to the public in respect of auction properties, if any "gure is quoted.

"Only where the market has clearly shown that the AMV is unachievable may a lower "gure be quoted and in those circumstances members must so advise their clients in writing in advance of quoting another "gure. In such cases, which will be after an unsuccessful auction, the term AMV should be replaced by Asking Price."

Cooke insists that the AMV must not alter throughout an auction campaign, even where a higher offer has been received, although agents may tell buyers verbally that they have got a higher offer.

The review group recommended that the term AMV be used for both private treaty and auction proprties.

But the IAVI has told its members that, while they can provide an Advised Minimum Value for private treaty sales, they should also set an "Asking Price" (AP) and provide that in writing too.

The Asking Price, says Cooke, should not be lower than the AMV . . . although, under IAVI rules, it may exceed it.

"While the Review Group's Report recommended that AMVs apply equally to both auctions and private treaty sales, it is the view of the IAVI that sellers do not mislead anyone by quoting a higher price for their property, that they are constitutionally and legally entitled to do so and that Government cannot move to prevent them doing so, " says Cooke.

However, he adds that in private treaty sales, a "rm Asking Price should be given, approved by and con"rmed in writing along with the AMV to the client in advance of marketing.

Terms such as "Offers in the region of", "Offers in excess of", "offers circa", "offers above" and so forth should no longer be used.

The new system will operate in most auctioneers around the country and has been given a general welcome.

Yet, as one leading agent said: "It's a free market and we can't stop anybody at auction or in a private treaty sale from bidding above the price that we have honestly set."