IPAVConference: The Government should reduce its excessive tax take on new homes if it wants to help first-time buyers. It now lays claim to 45 per cent of the cost of a new home, according to the president of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers.

The State's tax take has also grown rapidly, tripling over the past seven years, stated the newly appointed institute president, Richard Nagel, who addressed the institute's annual conference in Cork last weekend.

"If you take an average house price of €240,000, the Government pockets a cool €108,000 without scarcely an acknowledgement," he told delegates to the conference. "Where else does the minister for finance get such easy pickings? And all this for taking no risk of any kind."

It was "nothing short of a scandal" that 45 per cent of the price tag of a new house reverts to the Government in one of half a dozen separate taxes and charges, he said.

Seven years ago new homes provided 3 per cent of the total Government tax take, he stated. That was now up to 9 per cent, a trebling of the tax take in just one sector.

"Such a happening would cause an outrage in other sectors of the economy but the Government has managed to let this easy money continue to flow in without giving back virtually anything to help first-time buyers in return," he said.

"In addition, we now have the spectre of new development levies coming down the line from the local authorities causing a further hike in prices," he added. "The outlook for first-time buyers is very pessimistic unless the Government makes a significant move in the December budget."

House pricing remained strong and looked likely to achieve 10 per cent during the year, he stated. "Despite the lure of properties abroad in sunnier climes and in the new EU member states, there is still a very strong investment sector in the domestic market."

Demographic forces aided price strength with the continued growth in population, net inward immigration and changing household patterns along with "the long scarcity of good quality accommodation" joining to push prices upwards.

Shane Ross of the Sunday Independent told the conference it is "quite fantastic that you can become an auctioneer without anything other than €12,700 and going down to the District Court, lodging the money and off you go selling houses. To think that some people are selling their houses through people that are utterly unqualified in this area is very, very alarming. People need protection in this area very badly."

Mr Ross also said he was "very uneasy" about auctioneers running finance houses of their own. "I think it's very wrong that people who are selling houses should also be organising loans to buyers. There is a huge conflict of interest there. There are many auctioneers in Ireland now organising these finance houses and who are benefiting from the loans of buyers as well as the sellers. That is a clear conflict of interest."