Seen & Heard: crackdown on rogue estate agents

The State's new property regulator is to begin a major crackdown on rogue estate agents and auctioneers, according to the Sunday Business Post. The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PRSA) has received hundreds of complaints from house hunters about unlicensed staff, gazumping, fake bids and "even bad manners", the paper says.

UPC to take over Bitbuzz

Liberty Global-owned UPC is finalising plans for a multibillion-euro takeover of Bitbuzz, a Dublin company that operates more than 550 wifi hotspots in Ireland and the UK, reports the Sunday Times. A spokesman for Bitbuzz declined to comment.

Housing crisis documentary

The role of developers in the property collapse was misunderstood, developer Michael O'Flynn tells Matt Cooper in Ireland, What's Next: The Housing Crisis, which airs on TV3 tonight at 9pm. "The scale of criticism towards developers was extraordinary. I think it was people did not understand what we did."

Lead bid for IBRC Assurance

A consortium led by European insurance giant Swiss Re, the Dublin property company Alanis and management has emerged as the preferred bidder for IBRC Assurance Company, according to the Sunday Times. The paper understands the consortium has lodged a bid of €15 million for IBRC Assurance.