Homefacts.ie is a website created by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). It claims to provide key information to assist homebuyers in Ireland today. When it launched the site, the CIF claimed that the site would tackle misleading negative spin about the Irish property market.

The name certainly sounded promising, it certainly was proving difficult to get any "facts" about Irish house prices and the analysis of most "experts" in the industry seemed to begin and end with "there has never been a better time to buy".

In the final analysis Homefacts.ie comes up short. When originally launched, the site provided Buy versus Rent comparisons that actually contained very basic errors in the maths. No problem with that, every new site is entitled to its glitches. The maths eventually got corrected but some very dodgy assumptions and claims still remain.

The site is also woefully unbalanced. To be expected from an industry website, and it would be fair to say that IrishHomeTruths.com can't exactly claim to be much better. Our only defence is that as soon as some good news comes along, we'll print it. Homefacts.ie on the other hand stopped printing news when the good news dried up.

It's not all bad though. Some sections of the Homefacts.ie website are actually quite informative. In particular the sections on Stamp Duty and the Buying Process are quite good.

And so, this is the IrishHomeTruths.com guide to Homefacts.ie. We'll take you through the CIF's attempt at informing (influencing) buyers, and we'll point out where they make sense, and where they're leading you up a very expensive garden path.