Nearly half of first-home buyers need help from family for deposits
New figures show that house prices are up by nearly 10% in the last year.
ALMOST HALF OF people saving for a deposit need financial help from either their family or friends, according to a new survey.
That is despite the fact that half of respondents to the poll had been saving for two years or more.
The findings are part of a study conducted by Red C on behalf of Bank of Ireland, which surveyed over 200 people between the ages of 25 and 45 who are planning to buy or build their first home in the next few years.
A huge majority, 90%, of those surveyed said they want to buy a house rather than an apartment, despite the higher average cost.
Of those who are actively saving for their deposit, the average amount being put aside per month is €444, down slightly on 2016 research.
Three-quarters of those polled are currently renting and pay an average of €820 per month. The average age of the first-time buyers surveyed was 34 and half have children.
House price growth
The study comes as new statistics from the CSO show that house prices across Ireland rose by almost 10% in the year to March.
According to the organisation, residential property prices rose nationally by 9.6% during the period.
Builders on a construction site
This compares with an increase of 9.4% in the year to February and an increase of 5.5% in the twelve months to March 2016.
The CSO revised down February’s growth levels from the originally-stated 10.7% to 9.4%. Dublin house prices jumped by 8%, while prices for apartments grew by 9.6% in the same period.
The highest house price growth was in Dublin City, at 10.7%. The lowest growth was in Fingal, with house prices rising just 2.2%.
Apartments
Residential property prices in the rest of Ireland, excluding Dublin, were 11.8% higher in the year to March.
House prices increased 11.3% over the period, while apartment prices outside the capital soared by 16.4%.
Overall, the national index is 31.5% lower than it was at the peak of the property bubble in 2007. Since the trough of the recession in early 2013, prices nationally have increased by just over 50%.
During that period Dublin residential property prices have shot up by 67.6%, while prices in the rest of Ireland are 46.3% higher.
Analysts have previously said that they expected double-digit house price inflation throughout 2017.
The loosening of the Central Bank mortgage lending rules and the introduction of the Help-to-Buy scheme have both been cited as factors causing the price growth.
