Consumers optimistic for housing sector

Irish consumers believe that the housing market has turned and that the value of homes is set to rise by more than 2% in the next year, according to a new index called the AIB/ESRI Housing Market Index.

The index was designed to measure Irish consumers’ attitudes to the housing sector and has been tracking a general improvement over the last number of months.

The survey of over 800 consumers conducted by the ESRI between Jul and Dec 2013 shows the index increased to 104.4 in Dec 2013 from 100 at the end of Sep 2013, based on a three-month rolling average.