First Time Buyers are ready to buy

The majority of this group are between 25 and 30 years old. 48% are renting while 31% live with their parents. 66% of those renting are paying between €600 and €700 per month. A large majority (68%) of these potential buyers want to buy in the next year and most are motivated by “seeing the right house”. 54% are buying alone and 41% are buying with a spouse or partner. Interestingly, most of them have no preference between a newly built or a second hand house. The most popular budget is between €200,000 and €249,000. Most of these buyers (54%%) are holding off buying because they believe prices will fall in the months ahead and 22% are have problems obtaining finance. A considerable number of this group (59%) haven’t applied for a mortgage yet. Most First Time Buyers feel that the Home Choice loans will have little effect on the market. 79% of First Time Buyers think there is value in buying a house at the moment. 37% believe that property prices will bottom out by mid 2009. Most First Time Buyers (35%) believe that house prices will decrease by 5% in 2009. The majority of First Time Buyers believe that building energy ratings will have no effect on house prices and most don’t agree with carbon taxing homes.