A weekend opinion poll has found that many members of the public believe that now is a good time to buy a house.
The survey, conducted by the Irish Independent/Millward Brown Lansdowne, revealed that four out of five people believe now is a good time to buy. The poll also found that a similar number expect prices to fall more.
In a clear indicator that most people believe there is value in the market, only 15% disagreed with the idea that now was a good time to buy.
The poll also found that while the majority feel prices will continue to fall, they do not believe the falls will be significant enough to put off would-be buyers.
While 7 in 10 believe the market has not bottomed out yet, four fifths of those surveyed believe now is a good time to buy.
The poll also found that people believe that mortgage holders and potential applicants should be given a fairer deal. Some of the key findings were:
- 78% said homeowners should be allowed keep their tracker mortgage when moving house
- 69% said those who can’t pay their mortgage should have their debts written off once they hand back the keys to the house and it has been sold by their lender.
- 68% believe homeowners whose houses are in negative equity should be allowed to get a new mortgage and carry the negative equity with them
The survey also found that just 14% of people believe that banks are doing enough to help potential house buyers get a mortgage.
The opinion poll was conducted last Monday and Tuesday among a sample of 1,106 adults interviewed on a face-to-face basis in the home at 93 sampling points throughout all constituencies.
Advertisement