Housebuyers are waiting, survey finds

Potential housebuyers are continuing to sit on the sidelines and wait to see if prices drop further before committing, a new survey shows.

The MyHome.ie Autumn Property Market survey shows that 52 per cent of respondents are monitoring the market with nearly all intending to buy in the next 12 months.

Close to a third of respondents said they believe house prices will remain static or even rise over the next year while as many as 48 per cent expect prices to fall further.

Apartments appear to be out of favour at the moment with just 11 per cent of respondents looking for them whereas 26 per cent said they were searching for three bedroom semi-detached homes a a further 21 per cent indicated they were in the market for a three bedroom detached property.

The survey shows the public remain unsure as to the likely impact the creation of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) will have on the domestic residential property market with 32 per cent claiming it would have a positive impact over the long term and 18 per cent believing the opposite.

As many as 37 per cent of respondents said said they did not know what impact the agency would have on prices.

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