The technology created by a property search engine company for IPAV has recently won an award from the UN World Summit for eBusiness on account of its user-friendly format. This announcement came at the AGM and Conference held by IPAV last weekend in Adare.

The event also saw the appointment of new chief executive, Fintan McNamara, formerly spokesman for the Irish Property Owners' Association and prominent member of the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

Newly elected IPAV president Sean Mason, in his inaugural address, took the opportunity to criticise the introduction of Advised Minimum Value (AMV) . . .

the setting by estate agents of auction property price guidelines. As currently used, the term AMV is of little value to the buying public and in fact only added further confusion to the controversial issue of guide prices, he said, adding that this, and other areas of the sales process should only be introduced in conjunction and consultation with the Regulatory Authority.

"Only by acting in a coherent and united fashion can we introduce best practice into the profession.

This is clearly an area which we will be taking up as a matter of priority with the new Authority, " said the new president.