Research by Bank of Ireland, reveal that both first time buyers and those trading up remain confident of purchasing their dream home despite concerns surrounding Ireland’s property market.

The research conducted by W5 Marketing Intelligence confirms the strong desire for people to own their own homes with 63% saying, “Buying your own home is one of the basic goals that everyone needs to achieve in their lifetime.” Moreover, despite almost half those researched expressing a view that the property market was not in a good state of health, 77% have a dream home in mind and 60% have a plan to achieve it. 35% of respondents feel that they will achieve this dream between the age of 36 and 45.

This research confirming strong underlying demand comes as the Irish housing market is experiencing a slowdown, a predictable result of a rising interest rate cycle and record growth in supply. However with the interest rate peak now in view, this latest survey confirms that demand remains robust underpinned by an economy that is still showing strong employment growth (75,000 new jobs expected in 2007) and a 5% rise in average earnings.

The demand for housing is also borne out by the rapid rise in rents, which have increased by 11% this year. The Bank of Ireland research shows that 45% of first time buyers have a strong preference to own their own home citing “security of having your own place” and “having somewhere to call your own” as the main reasons.

The survey also showed that merely getting on the property ladder is not enough with 77% of buyers having a strong desire to own their dream home and 81% see themselves achieving that dream with 60% having a plan as to how they will do so. This creates a strong “trading up” market. Despite rising interest rates, half of those surveyed would trade up right now to their dream home if they found it. High on the list of desirable attributes for that dream home are:

- Location in a good area
- Detached house
- Safe area
- Good facilities nearby.

The Bank of Ireland survey also revealed that the process of getting a mortgage is the most stressful aspect for buyers with four in ten first time buyers finding the process stressful compared to just one in ten being concerned about making mortgage repayments. Six out of ten house buyers felt they should have known more about the mortgage process with one third quoting the amount of paperwork involved and 27% quoting the jargon as the most confusing aspects.

The Bank of Ireland research also looked at the influence of the media on current attitudes to the property market in Ireland. Not surprisingly more than one third of respondents saw rising interest rates as the main message coming from the media. Despite the fact that 20% had picked up from the media that house prices were falling, house buyers are less concerned about short term movements in the value of their property than they are about factors that impact on their ability to make their monthly repayments.

Commentating on these findings Joe Larkin, Director Personal Lending, Bank of Ireland said: “This research confirms our experience in Bank of Ireland that there continues to be a strong underlying demand for people to both make a start on the housing ladder and to trade up to their dream home as quickly as possible. House buyers are also pragmatic and realistic in their response to changing market conditions. While it is the biggest financial transaction most of us will ever make in our lifetimes, a house purchase is essentially an emotional transaction that is about having a place we can call our own and living with people and in communities that are important to us. That is why we are responding very much to the finding that many people find the overall mortgage process stressful.

Most people, having gone through the buying process, feel that they should have known more about it. It’s usually the paperwork that’s the biggest concern for people, and our Mortgage Advisors can help them with this. People also often need advice on interest rates – only less than half of recent house buyers we talked to in this survey told us that they were confident about which rate to go with.

In Bank of Ireland we are in the advice business and I would encourage house buyers to come and talk to us and to use our expertise and experience to help smooth the path to their dream home.”