"If you are planning on buying now to sell on in the next few years, you are insane," says Margaret Penrose of The Buyer's Agent which finds top end properties for clients. "If you plan on staying, however, it is a fantastic time to buy

Mulvaney says business is picking up, albeit with a different set of negotiating skills... There are two markets out there at the moment: the 'have to sells' and the 'might sells' You need to sort the two from each other and work on the have to.

We will always get the best price possible," says Mulvaney. "I was recently with an agent and we had reached the point of sale. He told me at the last minute he wanted an extra € 20,000. My client was keen to give the € 20,000, but I refused. A few moments later, we had a sale agreed.

I learned the hard way how to buy property, so I wanted to make it easier for people" said Karen. "I think there is amazing value out there at the moment

Audrey Casey & Margaret Penrose from the Buyers Agent give their top tips for buyers. "In the current market buyers are in prime position to negotiate.

There are no rules on approaching vendors," says Mulvaney. "If you want a house badly enough, you'll do it

Margaret Penrose is a buyer's agent and says her specialist hardball purchasing skills are presently cutting huge amounts off properties she buys for clients.

Reach for the stars when you're house hunting. Don't feel you can only afford a doer-upper," says Mulvaney, who believes that vendors who won't budge on price do themselves no favours.

And even though people trying to sell one house and buy another can easily get stuck in the current market, she believes the buyer's agent can help them too – because the agency will also handle sales, although privately.

In the U.S. nobody goes to an Estate Agent if they are buying property. They go to a Buyer's Agent. Estate Agents are vendor's agents and they look after vendors interests. More and more people here are realising this and hiring a buyer's agent.