A new report has found homebuyers are paying too much for their house due to overbidding at auctions.

Research by ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit, found the homebuying process is marked by auctions that can encourage people to overbid.

The report also identified a widespread misunderstanding of rights and responsibilities and increasing delays after sales are agreed.

The ESRI found prices were pushed higher in open auctions compared to sealed bid auctions.

Buyers taking part in open auctions were more likely to exceed their original spend and to bid more than what they thought the property was worth.

The study, which was funded by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), also found the homebuying process is becoming more stressful.

While the majority (63%) of people who previously bought a property experienced at least one stressful hurdle, the figure rose to over 80% among those who bought in the last three years.

Dr. Deirdre Robertson, Senior Research Officer at the ESRI and lead author of the report, said buyers aren't always aware of their rights in the process:

"What we found was that there are significant gaps in people's knowledge of the rights and responsibilities when they're buying houses.

"We also found that people had experienced a lot of stressful hurdles when buying a house, about two thirds overall had experienced a stressful hurdle when buying, but rose to up to 80% of people who've bought in more recent years".

The research found the most common issues were delays in the homebuying process.

One third of second-hand buyers said they experienced a delay in the legal and conveyancing element of the process.

More than a quarter of newbuild buyers experienced a delay moving in to their new home.