New home-buyer incentives could cause panic buying, experts warn

Many consumers anticipate house prices will rise faster in the next three years than in recent years, a survey has shown. Picture: Dan Linehan

Enhancing the help-to-buy scheme or introducing other incentives for first-time buyers could result in the already-hot housing market boiling over into panic buying.

Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Ireland, said the bank’s latest survey showed many consumers were already anticipating steep house price increases over the coming years as they believe the shortage of new homes will not improve in the short term.