First-time property buyers 'save for four years'

Four out of five first-time buyers save before they purchase their first property, with just one in five relying on parental help to fund their deposits.

New research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) shows that those who did save spent four years saving before they could afford to buy a property.

The survey, based on interviews with over 750 Permanent TSB customers who had taken out mortgages in the past three years, suggests that the average age of first-time buyers is 30 - three years older than the average of 27 recorded five years ago.

Among those who did save, the average sum saved was €23,000, while the average parental gift was €15,000.

The survey was conducted before the widespread availability of 100 per cent mortgages.Permanent TSB chief executive Denis Casey said he expected only 5 per cent of its customer base would be borrowing 100 per cent of property purchase prices. But he said there was definite demand for the loans, as savers were having "a real problem" chasing house price increases.

Four out of five of the first-time buyer homes were purchased outside Dublin. House prices have increased in the capital at faster than the average national rate of growth over the last nine years, with Dublin properties now €122,000 more expensive on average than those located outside the city.

Two out of three first-time buyers surveyed held joint mortgages. Almost six in 10 lived in their family home before buying their own house, with 40 per cent renting accommodation.

The majority - 54 per cent - have a net household income of €40,000 or more, while 80 per cent have an income of at least €26,000.

Some 58 per cent of the first-time buyers had purchased new properties, however most would have bought before a change in the stamp duty regime last December that made second-hand properties more favourable.

Detached houses were the most common property purchased outside Dublin, with semi-detached the most typical starter homes in Dublin. Some 16 per cent of first-time buyer properties in Dublin are apartments and this percentage is expected to rise following an increased number of completions in 2004 and this year.

The average size mortgage among the first-time buyers was €154,000. This rose to €164,000 for joint borrowers and dipped to €137,000 for single borrowers.

The average mortgage term was 27 years with longer terms found among those who had bought in the capital.

Although some 44 per cent of the first-time buyers questioned said their repayments were no burden at all, 49 per cent described them as something of a burden and only 7 per cent said they were a burden.

Fine Gael called on the Government to aid first-time buyers by increasing the threshold at which they pay stamp duty on second-hand properties from €317,500 to €400,000. It also proposed an SSIA-style bonus savings scheme that would give first-time buyers €1 for every €3 saved and suggested that mortgage interest relief be frontloaded to the first seven years of the loan.

The Labour Party said 100 per cent mortgages could result in huge financial burden for buyers. It proposed new State-backed loans to help people buy their first home.

The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (Ipav) said the survey's findings showed that 80 per cent of buyers were saving wisely, despite recent hype surrounding 100 per cent mortgages. Ipav chief executive Liam O'Donnell said this practice should be encouraged by both the Government and lending institutions.

"Today's survey is good news for the public all round and shows that first-time buyers continue to adopt a very mature approach to buying a property," Mr O'Donnell said.