A survey conducted by MyHome has revealed that nine in 10 homebuyers say that purchasing property next year would not be beneficial, due to increasing property costs. The survey states that 12% of respondents have agreed that the next 12 months would be a good time to buy, while three-quarters of respondents are concerned about the state of the property market. It’s understood that the survey was conducted on 2,020 people.
The reasons behind the findings of the survey are house price inflation and the overall increase in the cost of living this year. More than half of prospective home buyers say higher prices in the general economy are affecting their ability to purchase a home and 70% have since abandoned their ambition of purchasing property in their preferred locations.
Managing director of MyHome.ie, Joanne Geary says “the rise in the cost of living has been significant and is a source of worry for all people, so it is not surprising to see homebuyer sentiment negatively affected in this survey.”
Six in 10 respondents expect house prices to keep going up in the next year. This has adversely affected the sentiment among those who do not own a home. While 56% of those surveyed say they have finances in place to buy a property in the next year, a large portion of them, 42%, say they are not confident about their ability to buy in that timeframe.