Six in ten prospective homebuyers have been able to save more money for a deposit since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new survey.
The survey of 2,521 people from property website MyHome.ie found that prospective buyers in Ireland are largely insulated from Covid-related job losses and income drops, with 59 per cent able to increase their savings.
However, half of survey respondents felt that the home-buying market was now more competitive than it was before the pandemic. Just 16 per cent disagreed with this statement.
The consumer sentiment survey also found a major increase in the number of prospective homebuyers who believe property prices will rise over the next year.
Close to half (47 per cent) believed prices would rise by up to a tenth in the coming year. During the summer of 2020, just 15 per cent felt prices were set to increase.
Market reality
Half of survey respondents also said that more housing stock on the market would encourage them to buy now.
The survey findings reflect reality in the housing market, according to managing director of MyHome.ie Angela Keegan.
“We have seen commencements fall by 30 per cent in 2020 compared to the year before, while second-hand stock coming to the market has fallen by 50 per cent in the first two months of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2020,” Ms Keegan said.
“On the other hand, we see that six in ten people have been able to save more money for a deposit since Covid-19 emerged. As such, we believe there will likely be single-digit growth in property prices this year.”
We need to deal with the pandemic in order to... redress the imbalance between supply and demand
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The hardening of opinion on prices has also had an impact on sentiment for the year ahead, with the number of respondents who believe the next year will represent a good time to buy property dropping from 49 per cent in November to a current 40 per cent.
Eight in ten respondents (78%) also said they believe the Government could do more to help the property sector.
Ms Keegan said that the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines could provide a boost to the market.
“Above all else, we need to deal with the pandemic in order to get the construction sector back working, improve vendor confidence, and redress the imbalance between supply and demand,” she said.
