Almost 1 in 6 Question If They’ll Ever Own a Home

Almost 1 in 6 Irish people are sceptical of the likelihood that they will every own a home according to recent research.

According to a recent survey of over 5,000 people from AA Home Insurance, 9.22% of respondents fully agreed with the claim that owning a home was something they felt that they were unlikely to ever achieve. Meanwhile, a further 6.73% stated that they somewhat agreed that they may struggle to ever purchase a home.

The AA study also found a significant generational gap in attitudes towards home ownership, with those under 35 significantly more likely to feel like home ownership is beyond them. Of those under 35, 17.97% fully agreed that they were unlikely to ever be in a position to purchase property, with a further 15.56% partially agreeing with this claim.

“Housing has long been a concern for Irish people and for our government, but it does appear that people are becoming more sceptical of their ability to ever own their own home, with this being particularly true for younger generations. In previous decades those approaching their mid-thirties would have been on the verge of entering the property market, but a lack of supply and rising costs is forcing this cohort to question if they will ever own a home or at the very least delay purchasing for several more years,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “What is particularly noteworthy from our research on this is that, even among those under 35, there is a general consensus that home ownership is an important milestone, which would seem to imply that the appetite to purchase property is there but that the opportunities to do so are not.”

According to the AA Home Insurance research, 53.12% of those surveyed agreed completely with the idea that owning a home is an important milestone in life, with a further 24.98% partially agreeing with this. Despite those under 35 feeling sceptical of their ability to purchase a home, this cohort were similarly likely to feel owning a home was a major life goal, with 56.13% completely agreeing that purchasing a home was an important milestone in life.

“If and when you get there, purchasing your first home is a major moment in anyone’s life and, in all likelihood, represents the biggest purchase that most of us will ever make. When you are entering the market there are some ways to keep the costs down, particularly when it comes to insuring your home, which could help make home ownership a little more affordable,” Faughnan added. “No-one would ever purchase the first property they see without looking at alternatives, and you should take the same approach with your home insurance. Even if your bank or another insurer that you have a pre-existing relationship with offer you cover at a reasonable price, it’s still worth shopping around to see if you can find a better deal.”

Fig.1: Please state to what extent you agree or disagree with the following prompt: I feel that owning a home is something I am unlikely to achieve.

Based on 5,372 responses to an AA Home Insurance survey undertaken in May 2018.

	Agree completely	Agree somewhat	Neutral	Somewhat Disagree	Completely Disagree	I already own a home/Does not apply to me
All respondents	9.22%	6.73%	7.55%	4.82%	15.82%	55.84%
Respondents aged 35 or under	17.97%	15.36%	10.75%	10.60%	21.81%	23.50%