Now there are two buyers for every property on sale

Thousands lining up to buy homes as demand keeps prices increasing

THOUSANDS of people are lining up to buy properties as demand for homes is expected to keep prices rising.

So many people want a property that there are now two buyers ready to buy for every property that changes hands.

There are some 110,000 people ready and willing to buy a home, despite a chronic shortage of properties to purchase, the latest KBC Bank Homebuyer Sentiment Survey showed.

Movers account for a large number of those with purchasing plans.

The number of homeowners who want to buy is expected to run ahead of any improvement in property supply in the next year or two, keeping pressure on prices.

The 110,000 who are ready to buy is twice the number of property sales expected in the next two years, according to the KBC survey.

People intending to move home make up around 40,000 of those with plans for home buying.

This is up from the figure recorded in the previous KBC survey in April.

The survey highlighted “natural” demand from those who have reached house-buying age, or whose family size has changed, is the dominant driver of the increase in prospective home-buyers.

But some also see rising prices as a key reason for wanting to buy now.

Some 37pc of first-time buyers indicated they had reached a stage in life where they wanted to purchase. Some 27pc of movers highlighted changes in family size, while 13pc emphasised expectations of future price increases.

The survey excluded investors considering buying.

The current market pressures mean home-buyers are far from confident they will succeed in buying their dream home.

Almost half of buyers would consider buying more than 10km from their ideal location.

The survey comes as figures from the Central Statistics Office show that property prices surged by close to 13pc in the year to September.

The surging property prices are forcing buyers to borrow more.

The average amount borrowed by all those taking out a mortgage has shot up by €20,500 in the past year, according to the Banking and Payments Federation.

The KBC survey shows that just a third of potential buyers expect to get the home they want.

Some four out of 10 expect to have to make significant compromises, while 18pc are unsure or unlikely to find the property they want.

Economist at KBC Austin Hughes said: “The results of this home-buyer sentiment survey imply that for every property that changed hands in the past 12 months, there are now two ready and willing buyers.”

It also shows that the current “swell” in housing demand is also boosting property inflation even though new housing supply is increasing, he added.