Auctioneers apologise for requesting €2,000 deposit for spot on 'priority waiting list'

An auctioneer firm in Co Wexford has apologised following considerable backlash caused by a plan to ask house hunters to pay €2,000 to be placed on a "priority waiting list" for a new housing development.

The Crazy House Prices Instagram account shared an image of an email received by people who had registered their interest for an apartment or house in the Gleann an Ghairdín development in Gorey.

The email from Bridge Auctioneers read: "We already have an extensive list of persons interested in a property in the next phase of Gleann an Ghairdín.

"If you wish to be put on the priority waiting list, and therefore secure first preference on a property type in the next phase, we require you to pay a deposit of €2,000 to Bridge Auctioneer's now."

The email added: "The properties will be allocated on a first come first served basis. When they're gone they're gone."

The request was made despite Bridge Auctioneers acknowledging in the email that the builders of the development have "not yet released any details of the house prices or the site plan".

The post, which has now been widely circulated online, has caused considerable anger, with many people leaving Bridge Auctioneers bad reviews on Google.

The owners have replied to a number of the reviews posted earlier today, stating: "I now understand the back lash [sic] is about the booking deposit which is fully refundable for the priority listing.

"This was done because of the lack of property and the demand. I get now that people are not happy about it so I am withdrawing this offer and will just keep lists and it will be a first come first served basis."

"I apologise for any offence taken, it was not meant," the response added.

Ken Murphy from Bridge Auctioneers also took to the airwaves to apologise, confirming to Newstalk that the priority waiting list plan has now been scrapped.

"It was probably something that was done in haste and probably without a full thought process," Mr Murphy said, adding he was "asked to do this by the developer".