ESTATE AGENTS are used to the FTB (first-time buyer) and MBU (marriage break-up) factor in the market – but the people who are giving them a big headache at the moment are those who are RTG (ready-to-go) but JWB (just won’t buy).
A property person who spends her Saturday afternoons showing homes to young potential FTBs says most of them are RTG.
They have deposits and offers from banks and mortgage companies in their pockets. “But they ask: ‘What’s the real price?’ Even if you tell them it’s already been cut by 40 per cent, they won’t accept it,” she says.
Expecting further price drops, and fearful for their jobs, they’re holding off.
But will they know when we’ve hit BOTM (yes, the bottom-of-the-market)?
Meanwhile, according to a new survey by Bank of Ireland, no less than 38 per cent of 500 young customers it surveyed are ready to buy a home – in the next 18 months.
According to BoI, the young customers have strong opinions on the property market: eight out of 10 stated that house prices are becoming more affordable; 48 per cent believe there is good value in the property market; while 35 per cent stated there are great rates available.
Interestingly, only 8 per cent of those surveyed think it is easier to get approved for a mortgage than it was two years ago.
When asked why they would consider buying a property now, 68 per cent said that it was because of lower property prices, but only 10 per cent quoted lower mortgage interest rates.
The survey coincides with the launch of BoI’s new €1 billion fund for FTB mortgages, amid a hail of general criticism that the banks are simply not lending for property.
