Calls now come in to the Tribune property desk on a regular basis concerning second-hand properties taking too long to sell and with prices significantly reduced.

Anything between Euro65,000 to Euro100,000 is very much the norm in terms of reduction.

And that's something that would have been unheard of during this period last year when it was the stock levels of second-hand property itself that was drastically reduced.

Back then, record-breaking prices were recorded in the auction rooms for houses that many would have believed did not exactly comply with the classic auction property profile. If activity in Dublin's auction rooms is still to be taken as the barometer for what happens elsewhere in the market, it would seem that, so far this year, the reality bite predicted at the start of January has certainly snapped its jaws tight around the impulse to sell under the hammer. Only those properties that strictly tick all the right boxes - namely a grand period or architectdesigned house in a prime area - will attract buyers back into the auction rooms. Agents' books are still well stocked with private-treaty properties that failed to sell last autumn, and it would appear vendors are being urged to take note of the criteria required in a typical auction property. That's reflected in a 60% drop in auction numbers compared to this period last year. Vendors have become more realistic; buyers a lot more savvy.

"We are dealing with a different sort of vendor who will perhaps want to leave the closing of contracts for as long as possible in the hope of getting a better price, as opposed to an auction campaign which is very condensed - and very expensive, " says Paul Murgatroyd, economist with agents Douglas Newman Good. What will happen in the market this spring will be similar to activity two or three years back - unlike the pattern last year when scarcity pushed auction prices to record levels.

"My prediction for this year is that sales will be down by about one third with around 1,000 auctions for 2007 in total.

Supply is plentiful, buyers are less persuaded to rush to commit, and there is a lot less of a reason for them to go for an auction property. " Simon Ensor, director of auctions at Sherry FitzGerald, says that people with the classic auction property are still keen to go down that route, but an alternative private treaty, yet high-profile, campaign may suit the majority of houses.

"We will have a lot of highprofile private treaty campaigns this spring with the same level of exposure of an auction, but without the uncertainty - good for both buyers and vendors." The Sherry FitzGerald auction season got underway last week, but Ensor adds that timing is crucial - even in the busy spring period when holiday weekends have an impact on viewings.

"The mid-term break is on next week, so that will have an effect. There are lulls and peaks in activity. We will have a wave of new auction properties coming in on 8 March, followed by a lull over St Patrick's weekend, followed by another surge just after Easter." As well as the impressive house in prime location, Ensor adds that, to sell at auction now, it's important the integrity of the garden remains - a house with a mews built to the rear, for example, is less likely to sell rather than if the garden had been fully retained.

The indications of saner property market activity would certainly seem correct at this early start of the season, and things look good for buyers of second-hand homes out there - at least for the moment, says Paul Murgatroyd.

"Supply levels of secondhand houses are in the region of 170% this year compared to last year - which only goes to show how the property market can so easily change."

AUCTION RESULTS No 89 Strand Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4 Three-bed Victorian property AMV: 2.5m. Withdrawn. Now quoting Euro2.5m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald No 30 Upper Beechwood Avenue, Dublin 6 Four-bed end of terrace AMV: Euro1.5m. Withdrawn. Now quoting Euro1.6m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald No 25 Longwood Avenue, Portobello, Dublin 8 Two-bed end of terrace with twobed apartment AMV: Euro1.4m. Withdrawn Agent: Felicity Fox No 4 Laurelton, Bushy Park Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6 Three-bed detached house Sold at auction for Euro1.165m Agent: Douglas Newman Good No 20 Grantham Street, Dublin 8 Two-storey over garden level period AMV: Euro1.75m Withdrawn. Now quoting Euro1.75m Agent: Felicity Fox No 60 Heytesbury Street, Dublin 8 Three-bed single storey over garden level house AMV: Euro1.15m Withdrawn. Now quoting Euro1.25m Agent: Felicity Fox