80% Of Irish Not Saving For A Home

Times are a changing in Ireland. Becoming altogether more European, new research from Argos suggests that we’re no longer prioritising owning a home, deciding instead to stay put with renting. Despite the fact that almost every Irish person over 50 will tell you that renting is akin to ‘throwing away your money’, in a rather staggering statistic it’s been revealed that over 80% of Irish renters claim that they’re not currently saving for their own house. 54% of them claim that they would like to own a house, but for many, house shopping has become near impossible; they’re trapped in the rental market and cannot afford to buy their own property.

Meanwhile, 28% of those surveyed admitted that actually, renting sort of suits their lifestyle. There’re no major commitments beyond your standard 12 month contract, and there can be no fears of winding up in negative equity. You’d probably expect this statistic to refer only to those in their 20s and 30s, but this figure has recently risen to over 42% in the over 55s age bracket. Are we moving away from the idea that owning property is absolutely essential? Is renting really so bad?

Certainly, there are valid arguments on both sides. One major downside to renting is that it’s never really yours to decorate. The same survey reveals that making home improvements is a concern for many renters with those researched claiming that they’ve lost deposits when they’ve made changes. 63 percent say they don’t want to invest time and money personalising a property, whereas on average, people have lost over €700 when making changes.

Over to you – do you rent? Are you saving for a home? Would you consider renting long term?

The new research was revealed ahead of the launch of Argos? new Spring / Summer ?Heart of House? home and interiors range, at the upcoming Ideal Home Show in Dublin on 17th-19th April 2015.

@CarolineForan