Two-thirds of first-time buyers plan to buy

TWO out of three first-time buyers surveyed are planning to buy a house by the end of the year, as speculation mounts that AIB could hike interest rates as early as this week.

Research from EBS indicates that despite the keen interest in purchasing houses from first-time buyers more than three-quarters are worried about job security.

This comes as AIB signals it is close to making an announcement that it would increase rates on standard variable rate home loans by as much as 0.5%. This would mean an extra €65 a month to repayments on a typical €250,000 home loan over 25 years.