Waterford Council housing survey shows middle-income earners 'locked out of property market'
The survey was made up of 34 questions centered around different housing schemes.
A new affordable housing survey commissioned by Waterford City and County Council highlighted the struggles of "the squeezed middle" in gaining a foothold on the property ladder.
Of the survey’s 398 respondents gathered from September 30 to October 31, just under half earned less than €60,000 annually.
“There is a significant cohort who are locked out of the property market, for whom home ownership may not be the solution and that a significant, unrealised pent-up demand exists for Affordable Cost Rental Housing,” the survey analysis said.
65% defined an ‘affordable’ property as €250,000 or under. CSO figures show the median property price in Waterford stands at €299,000.
Waterford councillors lamented the survey findings, arguing there were not enough options for middle-class potential buyers that don’t qualify for social housing but can’t obtain a mortgage.
More than four in five respondents expressed interest in the Affordable Purchase Scheme - an initiative in which local authorities sell new builds below market value, at a price calculated on the buyer’s income and mortgage capacity.
The Cost Rental and Ready to Build scheme attracted less interest.
The majority of respondents chose Waterford City and its surrounding suburbs as their preferred place to live.
Independent Councillor Joe Kelly called for increased government funding into cost rental schemes.
“The amount of people that come to me for help or for guidance - and I can’t give them much - that are in that category because they cannot get social housing, they can't even be considered for social housing, and they haven’t any hope at all of getting a mortgage on their income, so they’re trapped,” Cllr. Kelly said.
“The solution seems to be, again, affordable cost rental. But then how do we provide that? That can only be done by massive increases in funding from the government for that type of scheme, or indeed, a different type of scheme entirely that might take care of that particular group of people, but we can't just abandon them.”
