Young people fear they will never own home as first-time buyers get older - survey

Huge numbers of younger people now doubt they will ever get to own their own homes.

Rising property prices and deposit requirements are making buying a property more difficult.

A new survey from insurance broker AA Life Insurance found that 15pc of people between the ages of 25 and 35 now question if they will ever be homeowners.

This is the so-called millennial generation - those who reached adulthood from 2000 on.

If these people are in a job they are often on short-term contracts, paid less than older colleagues and facing rents that are at levels above where they were during the boom.

The survey of 11,000 AA members also shows that first-time buyers are getting older.

Half of those under the age of 35 are yet to buy their first home. In contrast, some 83pc of their parents' generation had owned a home before they were 36.

The survey also records a huge fall in the number of people purchasing their first home in their mid 20s.

Read more: Will I ever own my own home? Millennials ask the big question as survey reveals harsh reality

Just 7pc of those under the age of 24 have bought their first home, three times less than their parents' generation.

AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan said: "Home ownership may feel as if it is a long way away for younger Irish people.

"Property prices and deposit requirements make it a much more difficult proposition for the millennial generation than it was for those who came before them. It seems as if the deck is stacked against them."

The survey, showing people getting older before they enter the property market, comes after a revamped data series from the Central Statistics Office found new buyers were being squeezed out of the market.

Half of the market was made up of first-time buyers of homes and apartments just six years ago.

But by last year the proportion of new buyers were down to a quarter of all buyers.

The latest revelations are likely to increase pressure on the Government to keep its promise to introduce a help-to-buy scheme for new buyers in the Budget.

In the first seven months of this year first-time purchasers accounted for 25pc of buyers, according to a revamped index of property prices from the Central Statistics Office. In 2010 it was 53pc.

Despite expecting to wait longer to enter the property market, home ownership remains a long-term goal for many of those under 35, according to the AA.

Over 87pc of people between the ages of 17 and 35 agree with the idea that owning a home is a personal milestone.

Just over 2pc of people in this age bracket stated that they do not want to own a home in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, KBC Bank Ireland has launched a new digital partnership with MyHome.ie to allow house hunters to take a virtual tour of properties up for sale.

During a pilot scheme, would-be house buyers will be able to watch 360-degree videos of up to 20 houses on the market in Dublin on their mobile phone, laptop or desktop computer from the comfort of their own home or while they are on the move.

This is the first time a bank will give prospective buyers in the property market the chance to "view" a house up close from their personal device.

Homes, which are being brought to market by estate agents DNG, can be viewed on a device through KBC's YouTube channel and the MyHome.ie mobile site.