Watch out for Eunan O'Carroll, the new head of Gunne Residential, who is likely to make quite an impact on the estate agency business. Though his background is in financial services - he played a leading role in setting up the Irish Mortgage Corporation 12 years ago and was head of intermediary services at Bank of Ireland Asset Management before joining the agency - he is clearly equipped to bring some new thinking into the property industry at a time of uncertainty in the market. One of his priorities will be to provide a better customer service. He is arranging a series of seminars, some of them aimed at "frustrated young buyers" who haven't exactly had a great deal from the industry. In a back-to-basics approach, he plans to advise them on the limited options open to them as house prices run away from many buyers. The seminars will be held in Gunne's Ballsbridge auction rooms on November 30th and December 7th.

The many changes planned by Mr O'Carroll will not include a name change. Not only is it a very successful brand, but there are many more Gunnes coming up the ranks to keep the flag flying.