1 in 5 renting plan to buy in the next year

20% of renters are planning to buy in 2014. Thousands of people renting a home expect to buy a property in the new year. One in five of those who are renting a home now say they are likely to purchase a property in the next 12 months, according to a new property survey.

Within the survey, it also shows a large numbers of those who are still living at home with their parents are preparing to buy a home in the next year.

Property Survey

The survey that was carried out by Red C on behalf of the (SCSI) Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, shows a dramatic shortage of family-type homes has caused property prices to rise sharply in urban areas.

Micheal O’Connor, the president of the surveyors’ group said in response to the survey, that the research showed a slight improvement in market activity and sentiment this year compared with 2012.

“Overall, 7pc of the 1,000 people surveyed say they plan to buy a new home in the next 12 months,” he said. “This compares with a figure of 5pc last year. This is quite encouraging and indicates consumer confidence is improving, albeit off a low base.”

Michael O’Connor warned that the low supply of houses in urban areas was causing a high pressure on prices. He warned that the heavy reliance on cash purchases was not sustainable.

“Everyone wants to see a return to a normal functioning property market as quickly as possible and for that to happen we must ensure that supply issues are addressed speedily where they occur.”

Meanwhile, other problems in the property market have also been highlighted such as a separate research that shows that the number of houses and apartments bought and sold in this country is lower than in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

These figures are due to the fact that there is not enough residential properties being built in Ireland.

The study showed that over 25,000 houses were sold in Ireland last year while sales in Scotland were almost 73,000. Although Scotland’s population is just 15% greater than Ireland’s, it had almost three times as many housing transactions in 2012.

1 in 5 renters are going to buy in 2014

Statistics

In terms of sales per 1,000 of the population, Ireland was at the bottom of the Celtic league table.

There are just 5.47 housing transactions per 1,000. This compares with a figure of 7.53 for Northern Ireland, 9.92 for Wales and 13.79 for Scotland.

The number of properties for sale on the Dublin market was now 30% – 40% below what it was at this time last year.

Senior civil servant John Hogan, at the Department of Finance has warned boom-time house buyers that they could remain in negative equity for some time.

John Hogan, who is head of banking policy at the Department of Finance, told an audience at the conference held by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland in Dublin: “Negative equity, despite the recent recovery in Dublin prices, will remain a reality for many.”