Over 70% of consumers face headaches in buying property

A new survey by Ireland Thinks found that almost seven in ten consumers (73%) have experienced difficulties when trying to buy properties.

The number of participants in this survey carried out on September 1 was 1,228. The survey also revealed 77% of respondents would like to see the Sellers Legal Pack or similar measures introduced to speed up conveyancing. Another recent survey of 534 agents, members of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers(IPAV), recently found that conveyancing takes on average four months to complete, with 84% of them seeing sales falling through because of such delays.

his latest consumer research comes ahead of the Sellers Legal Pack for Property Buyers’ Bill 2021 which was heard at second stage in the Dáil on Thursday October 5 . The Bill aims to create a statutory obligation for a seller’s pack to be prepared in advance of a property going on the market. This would contain documents such as contracts for sale, planning documents and architect’s certificate of compliance with planning and building regulations.

Pat Davitt, IPAV’s Chief Executive addresses the benefits that the Bill will have regarding the property market and how it will improve the efficiency of the proces overall “it would make market wide a practice that already applies in online public auctions and public auction sales, at no extra cost to consumers since it merely front loads a process that is currently elongated without justification’’. He added that “ by cutting down on the unnecessary delays prospective buyers would have less outlay, substantially so in some cases.”