A TYRONE estate agent who failed to disclose that the property he was marketing belonged to his brother has been banned from the business by the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The UK watchdog found that Niall Maneely, a director of Coalisland-based estate agency Maneely Company, neglected to tell a potential buyer of his relationship with the owner of the property he was selling.

The OFT also discovered that Maneely took a deposit from the potential buyer even though this is illegal when the estate agent has a personal interest in the property.

Maneely Company operates its business from two estate agency offices in Coalisland and Dungannon in Co Tyrone.

The mid-Ulster area had enjoyed rapidly rising house prices during Northern Ireland's short-lived property boom.

But the most recent house price survey from the University of Ulster showed the average price of a house in mid-Ulster had fallen to £201,746 - representing an annual fall of 16.8 per cent.

The OFT in the UK determined that Mr Maneely was "unfit to carry on estate agency work generally".

A prohibition order was issued to Mr Maneely earlier this month and he is now banned from working as an estate agency.

Warning orders have also been made against another director of Maneely Company, Colm McGeown and against the company itself.

The company and its directors have until September 2nd to appeal the OFT's decision.

No one was available from Maneely Company to comment on the OFT ruling yesterday.