Almost two thirds of first time buyers intend to buy a property in the next 12 months – an increase of 13% since February – according to a new survey from MyHome.ie. Almost 43% of those planning to buy in the next year said they intended to do so in the next three months.
The impact of increased mortgage interest relief measures which are available to buyers up to the end of the year was also apparent with almost 60% of first time buyers saying the extra reliefs would encourage them to buy between now and the end of the year.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie described the findings as encouraging and said it underlined the importance of the mortgage interest relief measures. She urged the Government to extend the tax relief measures which could be worth up to €27,500 to a couple buying their first home.
“We are seeing more transactions now and that is a positive as the market starts to recover. However we don’t want to see a situation where people feel rushed into buying a property," said Ms Keegan.
Eighty eight per cent of respondents to this survey believe the mortgage interest relief measure should be extended and we would support that call and urge the Government to support hard pressed consumers and extend it for another year.
The other key issue is access to finance. Our survey shows 75% of first time buyers have a deposit and want to buy a property, but just under 60% of respondents believe financial institutions are not lending at present, so access to finance continues to be a major issue, as does uncertainty over the forthcoming property tax” Keegan said.
Property Tax
The survey also asked existing homeowners and first time buyers how the property tax would impact their decision on whether to buy or not. Forty two per cent of first time buyers said they would wait for a while to see what it entails while 38% said it would make no difference. Almost 20% said they didn’t know.
Thirty six per cent of existing homeowners said they would wait and see, while 43% said it would make no difference, and 18% said they didn’t know. Implementing the tax on the basis of affordability was the most popular option for both groups.
Property Price Register
The survey also underlined the impact of the publication of actual selling prices on the Property Price Register with 90% of existing homeowners and 84% of first time buyers saying it will make a difference to the market.
However a fifth of existing homeowners said they would have concerns about the price of their house being known.
