FIRST-TIME buyers are a circumspect bunch so it remains to be seen whether the results of a survey by property website Myhome.ie – that two-thirds of them plan to buy in the next year – will actually become a reality.

The number planning to buy is up 7 per cent to 64 per cent on last autumn and the survey found that 78 per cent have a deposit – up 20 per cent from last year – so there is room for optimism.

While the respondents to the survey undoubtedly intend to buy, conditions will have to be right to lure them off the fence. We can’t help wondering how many of the 57 per cent who said they were going to buy last year did so?

The survey found that the number who do not intend buying has halved from 12.5 to 6.3 per cent. Of those who say they won’t be purchasing in the next year 27 per cent said they were waiting for prices to fall further, while the same number cited the economic climate. Sixteen per cent said the lack of mortgage approval meant their plans were on hold. Just over half of first-time buyers surveyed said they expect to make the purchase in a six to 12-month time frame while 58 per cent expect house prices to fall slightly in the next year.

One thing that might scupper some purchases this year is a lack of mortgage approval. Only 36 per cent have received mortgage approval while 39 per cent are actively seeking a mortgage.

Dublin will be the first market to see increased activity as 64 per cent of first-timers wish to buy there. A further 13 per cent want to buy in the commuter counties of Meath, Wicklow and Kildare.

Economist Paul Murgatroyd has come up with the surprising conclusion that price is not the most critical factor for first-timers when it comes to buying. “Sixty-four per cent intend to buy in the next 12 months. This supports research which shows that location is a more important criterion than price for the first-time buyer.”