ALMOST TWO THIRDS of first time buyers want to join the property market and buy a home in the next 12 months, an increase of 13 per cent since last February.

According to a new survey by property website MyHome.ie, almost 43 per cent of those planning to buy in the next year said they intended to do so in the next three months.

The survey shows 75 per cent of first time buyers have a deposit and want to buy a property, but just under 60 per cent 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.

Almost 60 per cent stated the importance of mortgage interest relief measures, which are available to buyers until the end of the year. First time buyers says it would encourage them to buy now rather than later to avail of measures.

Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie described the findings as encouraging and underlined the positive impact ofmortgage interest relief measures:

We are seeing more transactions now and that is a positive sign as the market starts to recover. However, we don’t want to see a situation where people feel rushed into buying a property. Eighty eight per cent of respondents 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 survey also asked first time buyers how the property tax would impact their decision on whether to buy or not with 42 per cent saying they would wait for a while to see what it entails while 38 per cent said it would make no difference. Almost 20 per cent said they didn’t know.

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