AS DIRECTOR of research at CBRE, I've spent 12 years tracking property but I "nd it really frightening that there are so many people commenting on the market at the moment. I'm now hearing more people tell me that the market is going up or down or sideways, and it's frustrating because often their only foundation is that they read it in the paper or heard it on the radio/TV last week so it must be true.

And it's scary having these barstool economists in"uencing the market.

Of course, some people and organisations are doing credible research, but there are also a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon and talking about housing, with very little hard data to back up their arguments. I'd pay more credence to somebody who has spent time and resources putting together their "ndings, and who have databases tracking prices, than somebody anecdotally giving their opinion or advice.

You could say that about property agents too. People often say to us, "well you would say that about the market". What I do is try to tell it as it is, based on research. But I think a lot of comment is by people and organisations who are talking up the market to suit themselves. For example, you see a lot of stockbroking "rms making comments. But are they doing that because they want people to invest in equities rather than property?

It frustrates me because, if key developers are starting to get nervous reading some of these articles, then what about Joe Soap who's wondering whether to buy or sell a house? For example, over Christmas someone compared the Irish market with the property market in Finland in the 1970s and said that we were due for a crash. But there was no basis for the comparison, it was like comparing chalk with cheese. We're seeing far too much of this in"uence in the market.

This wouldn't be such an issue if there were independent statistics. It's remiss of the government not to have accurate tracking statistics for the housing market. The Department of the Environment Housing Statistics are probably the only independent measures out there. But they only produce average "gures, which aren't good enough. The government hasn't invested in research to the same extent as private companies. For example, it should be part of the CSO's brief that they track property performance.

In the commercial market, everybody refers to the IPD index. It's not perfect, but it tracks all of the institutionally-owned property in Ireland, and every quarter we know what has been achieved in terms of retail and industrial returns. It's the industry norm, so if you're negotiating a rent review with somebody, you refer to the IPD index. In residential property, if you're arguing how much your property went up or down by, there are about 10 different indices you could use with each one giving a different "gure, all based on their own agenda.

This would help take some of the hysteria out of the market. The market is much less subject to crazy "uctuations if you have accurate independent information. You can forecast a little bit better so it's much more controlled. This is what happened when the IPD index was introduced in the commercial property sector.

The government has generated enough money out of stamp duty and property over the last couple of years. I think it's their duty at this stage to put a little bit back in terms of tracking the property market. Without independent statistics, people are making decisions on a whim and a prayer and on data that is good in some instances and rubbish in others.