Homes and mortgages 2012: Home buying expensive but desirable

The ING International Survey on Homes and Mortgages shows the following main conclusions:

1. Despite thinking homes are expensive (a view held by 71% in Europe), many respondents still expect property prices to go up where they live next year. This view is strongest in Austria, Turkey and Luxembourg. The exceptions are Spain, where the property market is under intense pressure, and the Netherlands, where proposed changes to tax rules may have dampened the outlook on housing.

2. Financial risks associated with buying homes are underestimated by many people. Presented with the statement “house prices never fall”, 46% of European consumers agreed. Even in countries where prices fell in recent times, there are surprisingly high levels of agreement with the statement – with Spain at 25%. In the USA, agreement was only 9% and in the United Kingdom, 17%.

3. Families and friends play a big role in helping buy property. For our European consumer (a weighted average), 40% of homeowners got financial help from loved ones when buying their home. This type of assistance is more common among younger homeowners but the 31% of respondents aged 55+ who say they got the help suggest the “bank of mum and dad” has been around for some time. Loved ones also help out in times of financial distress, with 10% of European consumers having returned to live with friends or family for financial reasons.

4. Buying a home is expected to get more difficult. Seventy-four per cent of European consumer survey respondents think it is more difficult to buy a property than 10 years ago and 76% worry that younger people won’t be able to buy a property.