With house prices on the rise, the opportunity to buy your own home is becoming increasingly difficult for many.
Home ownership in Ireland is among the highest in Europe but all over the country, first-time buyers are finding it difficult to buy a home. This report features some of those people in search of a home as they view the latest properties available on the market. Andrew and Joan are looking to purchase a new house.
They've been coming to terms with the fact that they'll have to pay out more than £100,000 for a house.
Auctioneers predict that things are going to get even worse for buyers as prices continue to rise. The average price of a new three bedroom semi-detached house in Dublin in 1996 was £76,000. A year later, the same property had risen in price to £96,000. In 1998, the average is expected to reach £105,000. These growing prices make properties more and more beyond the reach of a couple on the average industrial wage.
Even with some flexibility from the lending institutions, a home of your own is becoming an impossible dream.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 3 February 1998. The reporter is Margaret Ward.
