Conor Paterson
Ireland’s homeownership age gap between younger and older people is one of the highest in Europe according to a recent survey.
The research that was conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute showed that almost 80% of people over the age of 40 in Ireland own their own home. However, that figure drops to just a third for those under the age of 40.
This homeownership age gap is the second highest of the Western European countries that were measured in the ERSI survey.
However, the survey also found that Irish people don’t spend a higher proportion of their income on housing than those in other parts of Europe with Irish households on average spending a fifth of their net income on the cost of their home.
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This puts Ireland sixth highest out of the fourteen countries surveyed when it comes to average housing affordability with just Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Austria and Sweden ranking higher.
It also found that just 15% of Irish households spend more than a third of their income on housing, below the European average of 20%.
When it comes to rent, the report shows that renters have the lowest rent-to-income ratios on average. However, those on middle to high incomes are more likely to face high housing costs than their European counterparts.
Commenting on the report, one of the report's authors Dr Rachel Slaymaker said “While elsewhere in Europe rising affordability pressures have been primarily concentrated amongst the lowest income rental households, in Ireland extensive rental supports have mitigated the effects for these households.”
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Also, speaking on RTÉ radio, Dr Slaymaker said a high amount of young people in Ireland live in the family home than in other European countries. She said this and the low number of young homeowners here, highlights the challenges facing younger people in Ireland.
Commenting on the report, the Social Democrats' Housing spokesperson, Cian O’Callaghan, said that the current state of the housing market is hugely frustrating and upsetting for people.
He criticised the government's response with an underspend of the housing budget and missed targets on affordable purchase homes or social rental. On Twitter, the Dublin Bay North TD commented that “12 years of Fine Gael in Government has left an entire generation behind.”